Report: 28 percent of district students short on credits

Terry Webster

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

Twenty-eight percent of all Clark County School District high school students in 1999-2000 were lacking the number of credits required to keep them on pace for timely graduation.

A report reviewed Thursday by the School Board showed that 14,177 high school students out of the district's total high school enrollment of 49,867 were behind by two or more credits. Students must complete 22.5 credits and pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam in order to earn a diploma.

Superintendent Carlos Garcia said the district will have to consider "radical approaches" in order to improve the statistic.

"When I arrived, I began looking at the data," Garcia said. "We don't like the data. But we need to show where we are and then go forward."

Leonard Paul, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said, "It's a horrible statistic. We have no choice but to get out there and get started on this."

High schools that had the highest percentage of credit-deficient students include Desert Pines, 46 percent; Mojave, 33 percent; Valley, 32 percent; Rancho, 31 percent; Clark, 28 percent; Western, 28 percent and Chaparral, 26 percent.

Middle school data also concerns school officials.

Unless the middle school science program is stepped up, Garcia said, students will have little chance of passing the science portion being added to the High School Proficiency Exam.

The report's grade distribution data shows that in all subjects, the vast majority of grades issued to middle school students ranged from A to D during 1999-2000. But 11 percent were F.

Like middle school, most high school grades issued were in the the A through D range. Thirty-six percent of the grades for seniors were A and 26 percent were B. Nine percent were F.

Ninth graders had the highest number of F's (16 percent or 31,906) followed by 15 percent or 28,214 in 10th grade and 13 percent or 21,889 in 11th grade. A total of 93,641 F's were issued to high school students.

Having reviewed the numbers, school officials are now moving to try to improve them.

According to Paul, the statistics are one reason the district is studying a pilot program for a new class scheduling plan at several schools.

The School Board on Thursday received an overview of the program, called block scheduling.

Under block scheduling, students attend eight classes per semester with four, 85-minute periods on an "A day" and four different 85-minute periods on a "B day."

The schedule will allow students the chance to earn two additional credits per year and could also provide time for tutoring during the regular school day.

Implementing it could cost upwards of $4.6 million for additional teachers and textbooks. But that's a price well worth paying, Garcia said.

The proposal is getting a strong response from school administrators, Paul said.

"We have a total of 12 schools and there are 24 others begging to be in the pilot program," he said.

Chaparral, Mojave and Palo Verde high schools, along with Silvestri Middle School, are being targeted for the pilot program. Additionally, school officials would like to try block scheduling at two new high schools and four new middle schools that are opening.

Board members questioned why some of the schools on the list are not "at risk" schools. Paul replied that block scheduling would be difficult at some of them because they contain magnet school programs.

Allin Chandler, executive director of the Clark County Association of School Administrators, agreed that the district must do something to help credit deficient or failing students. But he suggested there are no studies that prove block scheduling will help.

If the program is implemented, the district will study it for a year to see if block scheduling works, Paul said. Then, it could be expanded.

Schools will not be forced to participate, Garcia said.