The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and policies to be used in tracking the adequate yearly progress (AYP) of schools toward these goals. This report examines Nevada's NCLB accountability system, particularly how its various rules, criteria and practices result in schools either making AYP, or not making AYP. It also gauges how tough Nevada's system is compared with other states. Nevada's definitions of proficiency generally ranked at or above average compared to the standards set by other states in the study, meaning that students had to perform at a higher level in order to be deemed proficient in Nevada. Nevada's minimum subgroup size is relatively small, resulting in more subgroups being held separately accountable in Nevada than would be in other states. These factors join to impact overall ranking. Compared to the other 27 states examined, Nevada places in the lower end of the distribution in terms of the number of schools making AYP. The report concludes that although in some respects, Nevada's NCLB accountability system is working as intended by the legislation, NCLB shortcomings are also evident, and should be considerations for Congress in future reauthorizations of the act. (Contains 10 footnotes, 6 figures, and 6 tables.) [For "The Accountability Illusion," see ED504712. For individual state reports, see ED504680-ED504694, ED504711, and ED504719.]
- Authorizing Institution
- Thomas B. Fordham Institute
- Education Level
- ['Elementary Education', 'Elementary Secondary Education', 'Grade 3', 'Grade 4', 'Grade 5', 'Grade 6', 'Grade 7', 'Grade 8', 'Middle Schools']
- Laws Policies and Programs
- No Child Left Behind Act 2001
- Location
- Nevada
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- Reports - Evaluative
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary 1
- 17 of 18 elementary schools 16 of 18 middle schools failed to make adequate yearly progress 1
- Nevada 1
- Introduction 2
- The Proficiency Illusion 2
- The Proficiency Illusion The Proficiency Illusion 2
- Nevada 2
- What We Studied 3
- The Pro- ficiency Illusion 3
- Nevada 3
- Nevada 4
- Note that we were unable to examine the impact of NCLBs safe harbor provision 5
- Nevada 5
- How Did the Sample Schools Fare under Nevadas AYP Rules 6
- Only one elementary school made AYP and 17 failed 6
- Of 18 middle schools in our sample only 2 passed 6
- Nevada 6
- Nevada 7
- Where Do Schools Fail 8
- Nevada 8
- Nevada 9
- Nevada 10
- Nevada 11
- Characteristics of Schools that Did and Didnt Make AYP 11
- Concluding Observations 11
- Nevada 12
- Limitations 12
- Nevada 13
