Charter school test scores found lagging

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Students in Nevada's charter schools score substantially below the national average on achievement tests and below their counterparts in public schools, a new report says.

But the study cautions against drawing any conclusions, since the state's five charter schools have only started up in the past two years. Another five have been licensed but are not are operating, Keith Rheault, deputy state superintendent of public instruction, said.

The report by the state Department of Education was presented Monday to the Assembly Education Committee. Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, called the results "very distressing."

"With the exception of slightly lower performance in reading and science at grade eight," the report said, "charter schools have performed at substantively lower levels in comparison to statewide average performance in each grade and in each subject."

"The parents in these schools need to know this," Chowning said. "They (the students) are not performing.

"The parents think they are in a better place."

But Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon, suggested the charter schools may be taking high-risk youngsters who might not be going to school if they were not enrolled in charter schools.

Rheault emphasized that legislators should not read too much into the study's results. "Be cautious," he told the committee. "This is very preliminary data."

Scores at Odyssey Charter School, designed around Internet use, were typical. Fourth graders' reading scores were in the 29th percentile in the nation, far below the state average in the 50th percentile.

Math scores ranked at 33 percent compared to the state average of 57 percent, and science posted a 33 percent while the state average was 60 percent. Language at the fourth grade was at the 29 percent level in the nation, compared with 57 percent in Nevada public schools.

However, eighth graders at Odyssey came closer to matching the national average. Reading was at 49 percent, compared with the state's 51 percent. Scores in language were 44 percent, compared with 52 percent statewide; math reached 34 percent, compared with public schools' 52 percent; and science scores averaged 47 percent, compared with 48 percent in the state's public schools.

At the Keystone Academy in rural Sandy Valley, 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, students in 10th grade posted scores below the state average. They were 22 percentage points below the state average in math; 7 points lower in science; 12 percentage points behind in language; and 14 points behind in reading.

During the first year of operation, all of the charter schools had financial troubles, Rheault said. But he said some of them got their feet on the ground after the initial year.

"The first year is difficult. There are no startup funds for facilities.

"Far greater attention has to be given to the financial management of the schools," Rheault said. "They must pay closer attention."

"In most cases, it was a good idea to put the school together," Doug Thunder, deputy state superintendent of public instruction in charge of finances, said. "But the business side was not where it should be."

One school in Clark County -- Techworld -- closed and had sent all of its money to its company in Florida. The state is trying to recover the money.

Another school, Gateway, in Fallon, was overpaid $77,000 by the state, which is still trying to recoup the money. Thunder said he did not know what the next step will be to get the money returned. The charter schools generally pay their teachers less than the public schools, Rheault said.