Here’s to Nevada’s education system

Only in Nevada do we celebrate such mediocrity.

The recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), measured educational milestones for students in fourth and eighth grades. Nevada, along with nine other states, did not meet the national average in reading and math, as the majority of students performed below grade level.

But Dale Erquiaga, Nevada’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Overall, I am pleased,” with Nevada’s progress since the average reading score of eighth-graders in the state improved four points since the 2011 survey. Yet, just 30 percent of these students were at grade level. The fourth-graders’ reading score went up one point, but even fewer, 27 percent, read at grade level.

Our math scores fell by one point for fourth-graders and stayed the same for eighth-graders. Thirty-four percent of the fourth-graders performed at grade level while just 28 percent of the eighth-graders had appropriate scores. Not much to be pleased about there.

Erquiaga predicted significant improvements by the 2015 national assessment, as a result of new policy reforms and funding increases. These improvements feature revised teaching standards, a new evaluation process and first-time funding for English language learners (ELL).

But it’s hard to see how new teacher evaluations will lift Nevada from its ranking of seventh worst state in the nation. And the new ELL funding is just $50 million over the next two years to serve only 14 schools in Clark County. Sure, it’s a step in the right direction and the first time ELL has been directly funded in Nevada, but it’s a tiny step when compared to what’s needed.

Support for education in Nevada tends to swell during campaign season when every politician swears allegiance. However, that support seems to disappear when it comes time to make the hard decisions, and our students and teachers are typically left with crumbs while corporations continue to avoid state taxes.

Legislators who moan about the final defeat of AB 46, the bill to raise property and sales taxes to repair Washoe County’s aging schools, at the hands of the County Commission last week should take a hard look in the mirror, along with the governor. It was your job to find a solution to this glaring and growing crisis and frankly, you failed.

If Nevada’s political leadership were serious about dramatically improving education, they would copy Oklahoma where every 4-year-old has free access to high quality pre-kindergarten. Poor children go to full-day nursery school from age 1, in “Educare” schools. Social workers mentor parents and encourage them to talk and read more to their children to help them learn.

Although Oklahoma’s 2013 NAEP scores were nothing to brag about either, researchers from Georgetown University have documented “phenomenal improvements in school readiness” for kindergarten students enrolled in Tulsa’s pre-K program. They were nine months ahead in reading, seven months ahead in writing and 5 months ahead of their peers in math skills. It takes money to keep those gains in subsequent years, however, and Oklahoma, like Nevada, is near the bottom in education funding.

We cannot continue to be satisfied with not getting worse. Instead of pretending that a ranking of seventh worst in the nation is acceptable, Gov. Sandoval and legislators should propose a bold early education initiative in our state. They should also find the courage to approve a funding stream to repair older schools so our children have a safe learning environment.

Neither is likely to happen without a corporate tax. But a state that approves $40 million in tax breaks for Hollywood cannot seriously be proud of allocating just $10 million more to support ELL while letting existing schools crumble.

A pre-school teacher should be more valued in Nevada than a fleeting job in the film industry. Let’s get our priorities in order.