Nevada ranked 18th for K-12 education

A new American Legislative Exchange Council report titled “Report Card on American Education” ranks states “A” through “F” on education reform laws and 1 through 50 on low-income student achievement. The report by the Goldwater Institute’s Dr. Matthew Ladner (who is also an NPRI policy fellow) along with Andrew LeFevre and Dan Lips ranks Nevada’s performance 18th in the nation and gives the Silver State a “C” for education reform.

The ranking was based on reading and math scores for fourth- and eighth-grade low-income students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. By focusing on low-income student achievement the researchers create a better apples-to-apples comparison between states.
The good news is that Nevada beats all of its regional neighbors in educating low-income students. Nevada’s ability to provide above-average education to low-income students is worthy of praise, but Nevada’s middle- and high-income students don’t perform much better, which drags Nevada’s overall achievement levels down.

Policies like identifying effective teachers, rewarding good teachers, alternative teacher certification and expanded school choice can all help improve the quality of education for all children in the Silver State.