An Education Week magazine study that ranks Nevada near the bottom in the country for education funding drives home the adage "you get what you pay for," a Clark County School District official says.
The study, released today by the national education magazine, rates all of the states and the District of Columbia in areas of student achievement, standards and accountability, improving teacher quality, school climate and adequacy in funding.
Nevada earned good marks for equity in funding (B) and its academic standards for what students should know (B minus). But it fell below average in the areas of improving teacher quality and adequacy in funding, earning a C minus in both.
Education officials used the report -- which gave Nevada a score of 72 for per-pupil spending -- as fodder for hammering home their contention that education is underfunded.
"Forty-four states are rated higher than us, and that's pretty bad," Augie Orci, a deputy superintendent for the Clark County School District, said. "Looking at the chart, there are a lot of A's, B's and even C pluses."
Education Week reported that the state average for per-pupil spending in Nevada is $5,911 or $1,168 less than the national average of $7,079.
Nevada, however, received a B for equity, which grades how fairly states distribute the spending.
Orci drew a correlation between spending and test scores on the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal exam in mathematics and science for both fourth and eighth grades. Education Week used those exam scores to evaluate student achievement.
Nevada, according to the report, scored below national averages in all test score areas.
"What that says to me is we could do a lot better," Orci said.
He also pointed out that California -- which earned an F for spending $5,603 per student -- had even lower test scores than Nevada except for one category, eighth grade writing.
The study also notes that Nevada is in the minority of states that require students to pass a statewide exit exam to graduate. In the 2000-2001 school year, 17 states required an exit exam to graduate. Six of those states base the exam on standards for 10th grade or higher.
Nevada's B minus for its academic standards was based on several criteria, including clear and specific standards for English, math, science and social studies, the kind of test questions used to measure student performance and how the state holds schools accountable for performance.
State officials said that on the positive side, the 2001 Legislature gave more funding to at-risk schools over the next two years. Nevada uses the TerraNova exam in grades four, eight and 10 to rate school performance. Schools that are rated as needing improvement receive additional funding to beef up academic programs.
The state funding, boosting money for at-risk schools by $3.3 million to $5.7 million annually over the next two years, won't be limited to schools whose students fail. The money will allow the state to provide additional funding to nearly 80 schools, more than double the number of at-risk schools previous eligible for extra assistance, said Terry Owens, an evaluation consultant for the Nevada Department of Education.
The additional money will be used to fund things such as new instructional materials, teacher training and new programs, Owens said.
One main thrust of Education Week's report is how states provide early childhood education and care, or pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. It points out that just nine states require districts to offer full-day kindergarten, while 33 mandate half-day kindergarten.
Efforts to make kindergarten a full day in Nevada have failed in previous legislative sessions, mainly due to a lack of funding and available classroom space, Keith Rheault, deputy superintendent for the Nevada Department of Education, said.
But it's an issue that will likely resurface during the 2003 Legislature, Rheault said.
He added that beefing up the kindergarten program is key, because of rising expectations for students.
"The purpose of kindergarten has changed over the years," Rheault said. "We now have standards in kindergarten for English, math and science. There are things students have to know before they enter first grade."
The 2001 Legislature approved more than $6 million over the next two years for pre-kindergarten.
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