Districtwide proficiency rates drop in reading, increase slightly in math

Fewer than half of the middle and high school students in the Clark County School District are proficient in reading.

High school reading proficiency rates dropped by 30 percentage points to 47 percent during the 2010-11 school year. Reading proficiency in middle school also dropped to 50 percent, a decrease of more than 16 points.

District officials attributed the decline to the increased difficulty of the state's standardized tests, which were revised for last year.

Math scores increased by nearly 5 percent to 65 percent at the middle school level and by nearly 3 points to 52 percent in high school.

Students traditionally must score 60 percent on the Criterion Referenced Test and the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam to pass.

Out of 500 possible points on the tests, a "cut score" of 300 generally is adopted.

The school board approved lowering the cut scores last year in the mathematics section to account for the tests' increased difficulty.

Passing scores were lowered to between 242 and 267 for middle and high school tests.

One-quarter of high school students would have passed if the cut score remained at 300.

Middle school students would have fared slightly better at 43 percent if the cut score were not lowered.

"It does bother me, and I wish we had done better," said Clark County School Board Trustee Lorraine Alderman. "It's always discouraging. You want as many kids as possible to be proficient.

"Again, those tests reflect only one day in the life of a child. It doesn't mean they're not where they need to be. It's only one predictor. It doesn't assess a whole person."

The cut scores will remain at their current levels for one more year and then be raised back to 300 beginning in 2012-13.

The district will begin this year to implement Common Core State Standards curriculum, which is more rigorous than current state standards. Tougher standardized tests will follow in the coming years.

District officials acknowledged their concern that scores will suffer greatly when the 2013 results are released.

These scores count toward the district's Adequate Yearly Progress results. This year, 139 of 363 schools passed AYP, dropping from 151 last year.

Robert Mars, principal of Silvestri Junior High School, 1055 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd., said that while the AYP results may paint a poor portrait of the district, many students are experiencing positive growth.

Students are categorized into more than 40 subgroups, and each group has to pass AYP standards for the school to pass.

All but one subgroup at Silvestri -- a handful of special education students -- didn't pass and, in effect, gives the school a scarlet "F."

"You can't look at one test and say this school is doing well or this school is doing poorly," Mars said.

This year the district will begin putting more emphasis on a model that measures student performance based on the amount of growth they make in a year.

"I think it will be a more accurate representation of schools," Mars said. "It will be a very good thing for the school district."

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.