September 15, 2023

Carson City, Nev. - Today’s release of school Star Ratings marks the return of the Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF) Star Ratings. Since the US Department of Education offered a waiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last time NSPF Star Ratings were calculated was for the 2018-2019 school year.

Table 1: Nevada Star Ratings Two-Year Trend

Years	2018-19	2018-19	2022-23	2022-23
Star Ratings	Number of Schools	Percentage of Schools	Number of Schools	Percentage of Schools
5-Star	120	14.8%	85	9.8%
4-Star	113	13.9%	79	9.2%
3-Star	200	24.6%	179	20.7%
2-Star	191	23.5%	195	22.6%
1-Star	95	11.7%	223	25.8%
Not-Rated*	93	11.5%	102	11.8%
Grand Total	812	100.0%	863	100.0%

"Not-Rated" if they lacked data in one or more measures required for receiving a Star Rating

The Nevada Department of Education (NDE or the Department) is committed to transparency and dedicated to improving student outcomes across the state. It is clear Nevada’ students are still recovering from interrupted learning due to the pandemic, as are students across the country. This additional data provides us a clearer picture of how our district, schools, and students are performing, NDE is monitoring accountability measures to ensure the effectiveness of Nevada’s PK-12 education system.

During the 2023Legislative session, the Governor and Legislature passed the largest education budget in state history. It allocates almost $12 billion in education spending, a $2.6 billion dollar increase over the biennium. Several bills also put accountability measures into place. Assembly Bill (AB) 400 and Senate Bill (SB)98 call for an analysis of the return on the historic investment into Nevada’ education system. Additionally, AB400 emphasizes the critical need for proficient literacy skills by third grade. AB241 establishes a new requirement that all students are on track for College and Career Readiness diplomas. Finally, SB72 requires the study of the safety and well-being of staff, and AB285 adds data requirements that seek to connect school staffing levels with student behavior.

“The Governor and Legislature have set the districts and charter schools up for success. Now is the time to seize the opportunities to ensure our learners thrive,” said Jhone Ebert, Superintendent of Public Instruction. “ Our focus, across the state, will be on advancing academic recovery to put our students on a path to excellence. Together, we can empower minds, inspire dreams, and transform the landscape of learning in our great state.”

Some schools have made huge strides. Twelve schools statewide have increased by two stars or more, two schools saw a three-star increase and one school moved up an impressive four-star rating from a one-star to a five-star. Moving up multiple star levels demands significant effort and commitment from students, teachers, staff, and community and shows an overall dedication to improvement.

Lund High School in the White Pine County School District saw a four-star increase, moving from one star to five stars.

Elko Institute for academic Achievement Elementary School in the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority and American Preparatory Academy High School in the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority saw a three-star increase.

The following schools all saw a two-star increase: Mike O’Callaghan i3 Learn Academy Middle School and Thurman White Academy of the performing Arts Middle School in the Clark County School District, Explore Knowledge Academy Middle School, a District-Sponsored Charter School in the Clark County School District, Eureka Elementary School in the Eureka County School District, Smith Valley Middle School in the Lyon County School District, Beatty Middle School and Tonopah Middle School in the Nye County School District, American Preparatory Academy Elementary School, and Nevada Connections Academy High School in the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority.

The NSPF Star Rating system was developed by teachers, administrators, and stakeholders from across the state. It is designed to summarize a school’s performance based on multiple indicators and measures. Parents, students, educators, and communities can use star ratings to understand how schools are performing and closely examine the indicators and measures that determine the ratings.

Under the NSPF, indicators, and measures are customized for the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Schools earn points based on performance in each measure, which are added together to generate a score for each indicator. The results for each indicator are then added together to create a total Index Score, which is on a scale between 1 and 100. This Index Score corresponds to a star rating from one to five. The overview of Nevada’s School Rating System on the Department’s website provides information on all indicators and measures, the point-earning potential of each, and a description of each star rating.

Some of the measures that factor into a school’s star rating include English and mathematics Smarter Balanced Assessments, science assessments, chronic absenteeism, graduation rate, and school designations.

Smarter Balanced Assessments

All grade levels experienced a decrease in proficiency in the State Smarter Balanced English Language Arts (ELA) compared to last year: 5th graders had the highest level of ELA proficiency at 43.7 percent, followed by 7th graders at 42.1 percent, and 4thgraders at 41.7 percent. Overall State state-level ELA proficiency decreased from 43.7 percent to 41 percent.

All grade levels demonstrated increased proficiency in the State Smarter Balanced Mathematics (Math) compared to last year. Third graders had the highest level of Math proficiency at 41.4 percent, followed by 4th graders at 37.6 percent, and 5th graders at 30.5 percent proficient. Overall State level Math proficiency increased from 29.8 percent to 31.3 percent.

Science Assessments

Nevada high school students showed a 0.6 percentage-point decrease in science proficiency this year over 2021-22 results. Elementary students showed a 0.9 percentage-point decrease in science over 2021-22, while middle school students dropped 1.3 percentage points after a gain of 1.4 percentage points in science last year. Other highlights include:

• Eureka County School District made the highest gain in proficiency at 25 percentage points over the previous year for 5th grade and had the highest science proficiency rate of 50.0 percent.

• For 8th grade science, Eureka County School District had the highest science proficiency rate at 53.8 percent, while Mineral made the highest gains at 21.8 percentage points over the previous year.

• For the high school science, Douglas County School District had the highest science proficiency at 31.7 percent while Nye County School District made the highest gains with a 9.5 percentage-point increase over the previous year.

Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism decreased 1.1 percentage points statewide from last year to 34.9percent. A total of 418 schools across the state (58 percent) lowered their chronic absenteeism rates and 274schools (38 percent) lowered their chronic absenteeism rates by at least 10percent from last year.

Graduation Rate

Nevada high schools increased their graduation rate to 81.7 percent for the Class of2022 from 81.3 percent the year before. In 11 of Nevada’s 17 school districts as well as the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA), students graduated at a higher rate than the State average of 81.7 percent. Eight of Nevada ’s 17 school districts showed increases in graduation rates from the previous year, with Eureka County School District showing the highest gain. Other districts with year-to-year increases in graduation rates include Clark County School District, Elko County School District, Humboldt County School District, Lander County School District, Pershing County School District, Washoe County School District, and White Pine County School District.

School Designations

The Nevada Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State plan describes the entrance and exit criteria for the three federal school-level designations for improvement, Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), Additional Target Support and Improvement (ATSI), and the new school label of More Rigorous Interventions for schools that have not exited CSI designation over the last 4 years.

• A total of 15 new schools were identified as CSI in 2023: ten elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools.

• A total of 35 new schools were identified as ATSI in 2023: 32 elementary schools, three middle schools, and no high schools.

• A total of 31 schools were identified as TSI in 2023: 14 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, and three high schools.

• 2023 is the first year for MRI designation. A total of 38 of the current CSI schools were identified as MRI this year.

CSI schools are schools that are in the bottom 5 percent of Title I schools for all students or have a graduation rate of 67 percent or lower. ATSI schools have one or more student group(s) that meet(s) the criteria used to determine the bottom 5th percentile CSI designation. TSI schools do not meet the criteria for CSI or ATSI but have one or more consistently underperforming student group(s).

Other Measures

Other Measures that factor into star ratings include English language proficiency among English Learners; high school readiness for 8th graders and college and career readiness for high school students; up-to-date academic learning plans for middle school students; and ACT assessment.

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About the Nevada Department of Education

The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) leads and collaborates with Nevada’s 17 school districts and the State Public Charter School Authority to advance educational equity Statewide. With offices in Carson City and Las Vegas, NDE oversees all pre-K-12 education in the State, working to achieve its mission to improve student achievement and educator effectiveness by ensuring opportunities, facilitating learning, and promoting excellence. Under the leadership of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, NDE impacts the achievement of nearly half a million children and 30,000 educators.