State schools chief reports mediocre scores

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- After spending billions of dollars and making education his top priority for eight years, Gov. Bob Miller still says the public school system is only mediocre.

And the state Department of Education presented statistics Tuesday that back up his assessment.

State Superintendent Mary Peterson told the Senate and Assembly budget committees that the overwhelming issue school districts face is growth, with the system expanding four times that of the national average.

And there's a diverse population that requires specialized services. The transient rate in some schools is "in excess of 100 percent," she said. This means that the students that start in a classroom may be gone by the end of the year, replaced by new faces.

The picture for students in ninth- through 12th-grade outlined by Peterson included:

* 83 percent are enrolled in mathematics courses compared to the national average (as of the 1993-94 school year) of 86 percent.

* The percentage who took an upper-level math class was 31 percent compared to the national average of 39 percent. Only Delaware and Hawaii had a lower rate. The highest rate was Utah at 59 percent.

* The percentage that took an upper-level science course was 23 percent compared to the national average of 26 percent.

* The dropout rate, when last measured, was 10 percent, up from 8 percent in 1990-91. The percentage of Hispanics leaving school was 16.4 percent, American Indians 12.4 percent and blacks 11.3 percent.

Peterson also presented figures showing that many Nevada students are scoring slightly above the national average of 50 percentile in certain tests.

* Fourth-graders scored at the 51st, 58th and 59th percentiles on reading, math and language proficiency tests.

* Eighth-graders scored at the 57th and 56th percentiles in reading and math.

Education Week magazine earlier this year gave Nevada schools a "C" grade. And Miller, in his State of the State address said, "Average is not good enough for our students."

Nevada in fiscal year 1995 spent $1.1 billion on the public school system. The average per pupil expenditure was $4,704 and the average daily attendance was 92 percent for the last school year.

Peterson said the debt service -- money used to build schools -- was not included in the $4,704.

Senate Majority Leader William Raggio, R-Reno, said there is a "lot of misinformation" about what the state is spending. He said Legislators are constantly confronted by citizens who point to figures that show other states spend more.

"We get letters that Nevada doesn't make the same commitment, but it's apples and oranges," Raggio said, noting that the taxing system is different.

"We're constantly getting criticized we are not stepping up to the plate on education."

Peterson said enrollment grew by 6.3 percent in 1994, the highest in the nation, followed by Arizona at 4 percent and Florida at 3.3 percent. From 1995 to 1996, the enrollment jumped by 6.4 percent.

She predicted the enrollment would jump 6.2 percent next fiscal year and 5.9 percent in the following year.