DOCUMENT RESUME UD 034 501 ED 459 249 State Summary of Nevada. Ed Watch Online. TITLE Education Trust, Washington, DC. INSTITUTION Carnegie Corp. of New York, NY. SPONS AGENCY 2001-00-00 PUB DATE 27p.; Also supported by the Washington Mutual Foundation. NOTE For the other State Summaries, see UD 034 472-523. For the Summary of the Nation, see UD 034 472. The Education Trust, 1725 K Street, NW, Suite 200, AVAILABLE FROM Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-293-1217; Fax: 202-293-2605. For full text: http://204.176.179.36/dc/edtrust/edstart.cfm. Numerical/Quantitative Data (110) PUB TYPE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Academic Achievement; *Black Students; Curriculum; DESCRIPTORS Educational Attainment; Educational Finance; Elementary Secondary Education; Equal Education; *Hispanic American Students; Mathematics Achievement; Minority Group Children; *Poverty; *Racial Differences; Reading Achievement; Science Achievement; Special Needs Students; Tables (Data); Teacher Effectiveness; Teaching Skills; White Students African Americans; Latinos; National Assessment of IDENTIFIERS Educational Progress; Nevada ABSTRACT This report provides data on the academic achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from other students, examining how well different groups of students perform in Nevada and noting inequities in teacher quality, course offerings, and funding. Included are tables and data that provide: a frontier gap analysis (a comparison of Nevada to the leaders in achievement and gap closing); student profile (the demographic distribution of youth in Nevada); state performance (academic opportunity (well prepared teachers, achievement and educational attainment) ; challenging curricula, special student placements, effective instruction, and annual per pupil investments); minority achievement gains, state by state; and analysis of minority-white achievement gaps by subject area and grade level. Hispanic and African American 8th graders in Nevada score about 2 years behind white 8th graders in the state in reading. Hispanic 8th graders score about 2 years behind white 8th graders in the state in writing. Eighth graders from low-income families in Nevada score about 2 years behind non-poor 8th graders in the state in reading and writing. The state's poor/non-poor achievement gap would close for 8th graders in math if poor students in Nevada scored as well as poor students in North Dakota. (Contains 24 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. State Sumniary T o eliminate the achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from other students, we must understand what that gap looks like and where it originates. Consider first how well different groups of stu- dents perform in your state. Look for in-state inequities in teacher quality and course offerings.Attention must also be paid to funding gaps.This State Summary Report provides a closer look at how these and other factors may be contributing to the gap. NEVADA HIGHLIGHTS African American and Latino 8th graders in Nevada score about two years behind White 8th graders in the state in reading. Latino 8th graders in Nevada score about two years behind White 8th graders in the state in writing. Low-income 8th graders in Nevada score about two years behind non- poor 8th graders in the state in reading and writing. The state poor/non-poor achievement gap would CLOSE for 4th graders in math if poor students in Nevada scored as well as poor students in North Dakota. (The description above is meant to provide a general overview of the state's gaps and progress in student achievement. Readers who wish to compare states on these measures should consult the precise figures reported on the "Frontier Gap Analysis" page inside.) BEST COPY AVAILABLE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION The ffice of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUC A TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION A/ Education DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY his document has been reproduced as PI Trust received from the person or organization originating it. Ba 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. tc144,,,140h14u,nt www.edtrust.org ° Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 Table of Contents Frontier Gap Analysis I a comparison of your state to the leaders in achievement and gap closing Student Profile 2 the demographic distribution of youth in your state State Performance 3 Academic achievement 3 NAEP, ACT/SAT scores by group Attainment 7 high school & college by group Opportunity 8 Well-prepared teachers 8 Challenging curricula 8 9 Special student placements Effective instruction 9 Investments 10 Biggest Gainer 12 How big is the achievement gap in your state? I 5 analysis of minority-White gaps by subject area and grade level 23 References PLEASE NOTE that the State Summary Reports are merely a selection of the data from the Education Watch Interactive Data site. For more complete data, and for more cross-state com- parisons, please visit the site at www.edtrustorg. Do remember, however, that you may have fuller, richer or more current data sets in your state for some of the indicators we report, because we only use data that can be compared across states.We there- fore encourage you to gather and examine a wide range of data from your own state and local districts. In this way, communities will come to see a full picture of how their students are faring and what can be done to improve results. 3 NEVADA (Frontier Gap Analysis Education Watch Online introduces a new way to look at achievement gaps in each state: by comparing them with the "frontier" state for a particular group of students, that is, the state with the highest average score for that group.The comparison shows that, in most cases, achievement gaps would shrink dramatically if a state's poor or minority students performed as well as the same group of students in the frontier state. But that's only part of a longer journey; visit the Education Watch Online interactive Web site to see how far your state has to go before all groups of students perform at the "proficient" level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). How to read the table: Group's Distance to Frontier State: For African American, Within-State Achievement Gap: For African American and Latino, and low-income students, this is the difference between Latino students, this is the difference between that group's aver- their average score and the average score for the same group of age score and the average score of white students on a particu- students in the frontier state. lar test. For low-income students, this is the difference between their average score and the average score of non-poor students Example:"Latino students in Nevada scored 16 points behind on the test Latino students in North Dakota, the frontier state for Latino stu- dents on that test" Example: "On Average, Nevada's Latino students scored 19 points lower than the state's White students on NAEP's 1996 4th Grade Amount State's Achievement Gap Would Shrink:This is Math Assessment" appromiately how much the state's achievement gap would Frontier State for Group:This is the state where a particu- shrink if its African American, Latino, and low-income students scored as well as the same group of students in the frontier lar group of students - African American, Latino, or low-income - scores the highest on the test But, because such students can state. achieve much higher than they do even in the frontier state, the Example: "If Nevada's Latino 4th graders scored as well as those current frontier should be viewed as a short-term target rather in North Dakota, the state's math achievement gap between than a long-term goal. Latino and White 4th Graders would shrink by 82%." Example: "Latino students in North Dakota out-perform Latino students in all other states on NAEP's 1996 4th Grade Math_ NOTE:A difference of 10 points is roughly equivalent to one year's Assessment" worth of learning. Frontier Within-State Amount State's Group's State for Distance to Achievement Gap Achievement NAEP Frontier Would Shrink * Group Group Assessment Gap TX African American 29 56% 16 4th Grade ND Latino 82% 19 16 Math (1996) ND would close Low-Income 21 21 African American 8th Grade STATE DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN TEST Latino Math (1996) Low-Income African American 8th Grade STATE DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN TEST Latino Science (1996) Low-Income CT African American 26 62% 16 4th Grade Latino IA 20 75% 15 Reading (1998) Low-Income 27 28 96% ME African American 52% 25 KS 13 8th Grade VA Latino 48% 23 1 1 Reading (1998) Low-Income 20 91% 22 ME TX African American 93% 14 15 8th Grade VA Latino 23 24 96% Writing (1998) OK Low-Income 82% 22 18 Note: Low-Income refers to students eligible for * Calculations take into account decimals. For clarity of presentation, data are displayed as whole numbers. free or reduced price lunch. Therefore, some figures may differ slightly from hand calculations. SOURCE: Education Trust calculations based on average scale scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics. 1 4 2001 Education Trust State Summaries NEVADA (Student Profile STUDENT PROFILE Population and enrollments:These data will offer a picture of the student population in your state. Comparing the demographic distribution of students across each educational level will show what happens to children as they journey through the education system. Significant differences should raise questions about equity. FourYear TwoYear Population Public K-I2 Private K-I2 Colleges Colleges Ages 5-24 African American 8.7% 9.7% 6.1% 6.2% 5.4% Asian 4.6% 7.9% 7.3% 4.8% 6.6% Latino 22.6% 20.5% 8.2% 6.8% 11.4% Native American 0.7% 2.3% 1.0% 1.8% 1.9% White 77.1% 72.9% 62.4% 63.2% 74.3% Other 0.6% 5.1% Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Number 41,618 504,250 33,662 13,246 296,621 Population and Enrollment 100% 90% 80% - 70% 60% 0 African American 0 Asian 50% - 0 Latino 40% - 0 Native American 30% - 0 Mite 0 Other 20% 10% 0% 1 Four Year College Population Private K12 Public K12 Two Year College 5 NEVADA (State Performance ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT NAEP achievement levels: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is administered to representative samples of students nationally and in participating states. NAEP achievement is reported by percents in four categories: Advanced, Proficient, Basic and Below Basic. "Proficient" indicates the desired level of competency for students at a particular grade in a particular subject. In this indicator, closing the achievement gap between groups is critical, but it is not enough. Schools have a long way to go to move all American young people to proficiency. 1998 NAEP 8th grade reading Adv. Prof. < Basic Basic 50 50 African 79251,099.1103191, American 49 0 10 41 Asian 47 28 2 23 0 0 42 Latino 48 0 10 Native American -50 White 47 22 2 29 -50 All 45 23 31 1 Non-Poor 47 26 2 25 -100 Poor 40 0 48 12 -100 NoriPoor Poor African American Asian Native American Latino IM-iite All *Note:all proficiency level data in percents. L Proficient 0 Basic 0 Advanced Below Basic 1998 NAEP 8th grade writing Adv. Prof. Basic < Basic 50 African American 0 64 27 9 Asian 68 0 19 13 0 Latino 40 0 7 53 Native American 0 60 28 12 White 62 16 21 -50 1 All 0 60 23 17 Non-Poor 20 62 17 1 Poor 56 37 0 7 -100 NonPoor Poor African American Native American Asian Latino All 1M-iite *Note:all proficiency level data in percents. Proficient 0 Basic 0 Advanced Below Basic 1998 NAEP 4th grade reading Adv. Prof. < Basic Basic 50 50 African American 68 26 5 =13 1 .19=SID Asian 4 37 36 23 1,1M:=0 0 0 Latino 27 2 10 61 Native American 25 63 2 10 -50 White 22 38 35 5 -50 All 4 47 32 17 Non-Poor 22 36 37 5 -100 Poor 24 67 8 1 -100 Poor NonPoor Native American Mite African American Asian Latino All *Note:all proficiency level data in percents. L! Proficient 0 Basic 0 Advanced Below Basic ir6 6 N EVA DA ( State Performance 1996 NAEP 4th grade math Adv. Prof. < Basic Basic 50 50 African 70 0 28 American 2 I. 43 36 Asian 20 o o 60 0 Latino 7 33 Native 44 49 American 0 8 -50 White 49 33 -60 I 7 I All 43 43 I 3 I Non-Poor 47 36 16 I -100 Poor 4 65 0 3 I -100 I I I I NonPoor Poor I I Mrican American Asian Native American White All Latino *Note: all proficiency level data in percents. Proficient 0 Basic 0 Advanced Below Basic 1:-..l. 1996 NAEP 8th grade math Adv. Prof. < Basic Basic African American 3ice Asian Latino fte.c-1? Native \Ao American White All 40\6 Non-Poor Poor *Note:all proficiency level data in percents. 1996 NAEP 8th grade science Adv. Prof. < Basic Basic African American Asian Latino Native American Oc.sib' White Qz:cic All \Aot Non-Poor ,06 Poor *Note: all proficiency level data in percents. 7 NEVADA (State Performance ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT NAEP multiyear trends: Looking at change over time both in absolute student performance and in achievement gaps can show whether a state is making progress, holding static, or even backsliding.This can help states focus actions needed for improvement, and measure whether existing initiatives are effectively meeting their goals in achievement and equity. 1992-98 4th grade reading Gap Changes Over Time African American- Latino- Year White Gap White Gap 1992 1994 26 20 1998 Change* 92-98 Note: Change based on absolute difference in average group scale scoreinterpret with caution (not necessarily statistically significant) *positive change=gap widened; negative change=gap narrowed 1992-96 4th grade math Gap Changes Over Time African American- Latino- Year White Gap White Gap 1992 29 1996 19 Change* 92-96 Note: Change based on absolute difference in average group scale scoreinterpret with caution (not necessarily statistically significant) *positive change=gap widened; negative change=gap narrowed 1990-96 8th grade math Gap Changes Over Time African American- Latino- Year White Gap White Gap 1990 1992 1996 Change* 90-96 Note: Change based on absolute difference in average group scale scoreinterpret with caution (not necessarily statistically significant) *positive change=gap widened; negative change=gap narrowed 8 NEVADA (State Performance Average scores on college admissions tests:While increasing numbers of minorities are taking college admissions tests, in virtually every state,African American, Latino and Native American students still score well below other students.To close this gap, states should ensure that all students complete a rigorous college preparatory sequence, and that all students are held to the same expectations of postsecondary attainment.The SAT and ACT are the major nationally used college admissions tests. Below we report the scores for the predominant test used by your state's colleges and universities. ACT Performance ACT Performance by Race/Ethnicity, 2000 26 22 20 2Cf5 g60 flg,@ V13,2 15 10 5 0 Mite African American Latino .Asi an AJI Note: A perfect score for the SAT is 1600. A perfect score for the ACT is 36. Distribution of ACT Test Takers, 2000 Test Takers African American 5.3% Asian 7.8% Latino 9.6% Native American 1.r. White 77.3% Total 100.0% Number 5,102 1.r. low reliability 9 NEVADA (State Performance ATTAINMENT In order to determine equity in attainment rates, we compare regular diploma recipients with the number of 8th graders four years earlier, and report freshmen enrollments compared to bachelor's degrees four years later.Taken together, these show the flow of groups of students from middle school to high school graduation and through postsecondary education.Although these data do not track individual students from year to year, they should paint a fairly representative picture of who makes it through high school and college. 8th Graders vs. Diplomas Diplomas 8th Graders 1993-94 1998 African American 9.3% 8.1% Asian 5.8% 4.2% Latino I 2.8% 12.6% Native American 2% 1.7% White 72.0% 71.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Number 13,052 17,825 Chances For College, 1998 In the fall of 1998, the percentage of 19 year-olds in Nevada who were enrolled in college - was (includes part-time and full-time students): 25.9% Freshmen vs. Degrees Awarded Freshmen* Bachelor's Degrees 1993-94 1997 African American 4.8% 3.9% Asian 4.7% 5.9% Latino 4.5% 7.4% Native American 1.r. 1.r. White 73.7% 77.3% Other 4.5% 13.3% Total 100.0% 100.0% Number 5,367 3,705 *Note:Includes first-time full time and part time freshmen at 2-year and 4-year institutions. Ir. low reliability I 0