(The Center Square) – The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) said the latest results from Nevada students in a nationwide assessment report card were “cause for concern.”
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024 report card, Nevada students scored below the national average in reading comprehension and mathematics.
In mathematics, Nevada fourth- and eighth-grade students were four percentage points and seven points below the national average, respectively.
Compared to 2022, the fourth-grade students’ scores improved by four points, but the eighth-grade students’ scores declined by four.
For reading, Nevada fourth-grade students were one point below the national average, and eighth-grade students were four points below the national average.
Nevada fourth-grade students’ reading scores increased by one point compared to two years ago. As for eighth-grade students, their reading scores declined six points from 2022.
“We note that Nevada is one of 13 states to post higher average student scores in grade 4 math in 2024 (when compared to 2022),” Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert in a news release.
“While that is encouraging, at the same time, these results are sobering,” he added. “They point to the importance of maintaining an unflinching focus on how we ensure our time with our students and our resources are aligned to research-based practices to achieve student success.”
As The Center Square reported, student test scores are still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, when governments forced schools to close for months.
“Overall, student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic performance,” said Peggy G. Carr, National Center for Education Statistics commissioner, in a press release. “Where there are signs of recovery, they are mostly in math and largely driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.”
In his State of the State, Gov. Joe Lombardo discussed the Nevada Accountability in Education Act.
According to the governor, this bill will improve the state’s academic standards, increase open enrollment policies, reward Nevada’s best teachers and administrators and boost its early literacy rate.
The Nevada Legislature will consider this bill in the upcoming legislative session in February.
