Are only 4% of Black students in Clark county proficient in math?
Nevada administers the Smarter-Balanced Assessments in math and English language arts to students in grades 3-8. Also referred to as Criterion Referenced Tests, these assessments are used in 12 other states.
For the most recent testing year (2021-2022), 93% of Nevada’s Black students in grades 3-8 were tested, and 11.8% of those in Clark county (Las Vegas area) schools scored proficient in math, versus 13.5% statewide. In the previous testing year (2020-2021), 8.4% of Black students tested in Clark county were proficient in math, versus 10.8% statewide. Only about half of Black students in the county and state were tested that year, likely due to the pandemic.
In 2018-2019, before the pandemic, the math proficiency rate for Black students in Clark county was 18.4%, versus 18.8% statewide.
Black students in Nevada consistently score lower in math than students of other races.