General Achievement Trends: Nevada
Author: Center on Education Policy
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Grades (Scholastic),Federal Legislation,Testing Programs,Academic Achievement,Measures (Individuals),Scores,Trend Analysis,State Standards,Grade 4,Grade 8,Grade 10,Effect Size,Reading Achievement,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,High School Students,Mathematics Achievement,Achievement Gains,Low Achievement,High Achievement,Exit Examinations,Grade 3,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 11,Grade 12

This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced; (2) Background information about limitations of the state's test data and characteristics of the state's testing system, including major changes in its testing system; (3) Figures and tables with the percentages of students scoring at the proficient level and above for all years with comparable data since 1999 and for all grades tested under the No Child Left Behind Act; (4) Figures and tables with percentages of students performing at three achievement levels--basic, proficient, and advanced--for all years with comparable data and for grades 4, 8, and 10 (or adjacent grades, in the case of states that lack comparable trend data for these default grades); (5) Figures and tables with mean scale scores, standard deviations, and effect sizes for all years with comparable data and for the three grades analyzed in this study; and (6) Figures and tables with mean scale scores, standard deviations, and effect sizes for all years with comparable data and for the three grades analyzed in this study. Nevada has made changes to its testing program in recent years. As a result, only three years of comparable test data (2006-2008), the minimum number needed to identify a trend, are available for grade 4, the elementary grade analyzed in this study. Data broken down by achievement levels are available from 2004 for grade 8 (the middle school grade analyzed) and from 2005 for grade 10 (the high school grade tested for NCLB). Overall, achievement trends in Nevada were mixed. Although moderate-to-large gains were common at the elementary grade analyzed, there were also several declines in the percentages of students performing at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels, especially at the middle and high school grades. Specific results include: (1) The percentage of students reaching or exceeding the basic level in reading increased at a moderate-to-large rate at the elementary grade analyzed, rose slightly at the middle school grade, and showed a moderate-to-large decrease in high school; in math, Nevada posted a moderate-to-large gain in the percentage basic at the elementary grade, but a slight decline at the middle school grade and a moderate-to-large decline in high school; (2) The percentage of students scoring at the proficient level and above in reading grew at a moderate-to-large rate at the elementary grade analyzed and at a slight rate at the middle school level; at the high school level, however, the percentage proficient in reading dropped slightly; in math, there was a moderate-to-large gain at the elementary grade, a slight gain at the middle school grade, and a moderate-to-large decline in high school; and (3) The percentage of students reaching the advanced level in reading decreased slightly at the elementary and middle grades analyzed but rose at a moderate-to-large rate at the high school level; in math, moderate-to-large gains were made at the elementary and high school grades analyzed, but the percentage advanced declined slightly at the middle school grade analyzed. (Contains 6 figures and 6 tables.) [This report represents an update of ED506162. For &quot;State Test Score Trends through 2007-08, Part I: Is the Emphasis on 'Proficiency' Shortchanging Higher- and Lower-Achieving Students?,&quot; see ED506121. For &quot;State Test Score Trends through 2007-08. Part II: Is There a Plateau Effect in Test Scores?,&quot; see ED506122.]