Average ACT college entrance exam scores are right around the middle of the bell curve in Douglas County.
If supporters of the candidates on the Douglas County School Board were hoping for an October surprise in the form of better college entrance exam scores, they didn’t get one.
Nevada law requires all juniors to take the American College Testing exams in order to graduate but does not require that they pass.
At last week’s school board meeting, trustees learned the composite score will drop to 18.1 for the Class of 2023, down from 18.7. That decline is similar to the statewide score, which dropped from 17.8 to 17.3.
District juniors scored 17.9 in math, 16.7 in English, 18.7 in reading and 18.6 in science. The top score on the test is 36.
According to district figures, 41 percent of Douglas High School students meet college readiness for English, while 24 percent are prepared in math.
“Students who don’t see themselves going to college are asked to take a three-hour test, and motivation is a big key,” Superintendent Keith Lewis told board members. “How do we build better conditions, so the test is taken a little bit more seriously? How do we create conditions to make it more meaningful?”
He said that the pandemic will have a lasting effect and it will be some time before the full impact is known.
“Obviously, my job as superintendent is to establish and maintain high expectations for student achievement and high outcomes for all students,” he said. “Over the last 27 months, assessment has really taken a back seat and school accountability measures have been suspended at the state and federal level as we navigated our way through the pandemic.”
Lewis said that he has met with the district’s staff to go over the data.
“It’s important to look at our 2021-22 data as our reset point a baseline we expect to improve upon,” he said. “We’ve put together a math task force and will look at math across the board.”
Lewis pointed out that Nevada is one of only eight states that requires all juniors to take the college entrance exam. The requirement replaced English and math testing that was mandatory for students to graduate.
Students were given four chances to take those tests and would not be allowed to graduate if they didn’t pass.
The status of Douglas County’s schools have been an election issue for the six candidates seeking three seats on the board.
A response to an email blast sent out by Commissioner Danny Tarkanian on the district’s statewide ranking, has been called out by opponents as a violation of Nevada’s ethics in government law.
The post didn’t support or oppose any named candidate, but critics argued that any response would be by its nature political.
Lewis said the district ran the post by its legal counsel and was told it was allowed.
State law prohibits any public officer or employee from causing a governmental entity to incur an expense in support of a ballot question or candidate.
Under the law, opinions may be sought by governmental entities from the state ethics board, which also hears complaints.
