During his State of the State address this year, Gov. Brian Sandoval urged lawmakers to write a new chapter in Nevada’s history by taking bold steps to fix the state’s underperforming public schools.
In following up with a $438 million tax proposal for education, Sandoval suggested that a key to opening a new chapter is to close something else — the achievement gap between white students and those of other ethnicities.
The gap, caused by complex and varied issues, has been a chronic problem for the state’s schools, particularly for the Clark County School District. Sandoval’s plan is designed to balance out achievement by funneling most of the new money to low-performing students — often minorities with disadvantaged backgrounds. For instance, $50 million would be used to expand the state’s Zoom School initiative, a program aimed at helping English-language learners.
How serious is the problem? Here’s a glimpse at how white, black and Hispanic students perform in CCSD compared with the overall student population. Mobile users click here.
Source: Nevada Department of Education
Percentages reflect students scoring at a proficient level or above on standardized tests. Science testing is done in fifth, eighth and 11th grades.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy