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Are only 4% of Black students in Clark county proficient in math?

By Todd Butterworth
NO

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.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Nevada Department of Education Data Interaction
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