27-03-2025
State report shows Nevada charter schools outperform public schools in test scores
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A report from a state agency said the quality of charter schools is decreasing as the number of them increases.
However, that won't dissuade Republican Governor Joe Lombardo. He's all in on school choice.
'Increasing the number of charter schools that are available within all the participating jurisdictions,' Lombardo told 8 News Now on Monday.
A report from the State Public Charter School Authority that was submitted to the Nevada Department of Education included data on student performance. It showed that test scores for SBAC, also known as Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, were higher among charter students than their public-school peers.
In the 2023-2024 school year, elementary and middle school students scored 13% higher in ELA and 12% higher in math compared to public school students, according to the SPCSA's report.
'Charter schools are accountable schools. If they don't do a good job, they close them. That's the difference with the school district. If they do a poor job, [lawmakers] give them more money,' Valeria Gurr, a school choice advocate, said.
Gurr said charter schools outperform public schools and the data shows – she's right.
High school charters graduated 2% more students than public schools in the 2023-2024 year, according to the SPCSA report.
'It's not one versus the other. It's about how we all co-exist in the system. So we that can serve kids the best – is possible for them,' Gurr said.
The report from the State Public Charter School Authority highlighted some problems with charter schools.
It showed that pre-COVID, 2% of charters were 1-star schools, but in the 2023-2024 academic year that number climbed to 15%. The increase in 1-star schools comes as charters grow in Nevada.
8 News Now previously reported on the state closing Eagle Charter School for failing to pay back more than $800,000 in taxpayer funds. Eagle was open for less than a year.
In an interview with our 8 News Now Investigators, Gov. Lombardo reiterated his support for school choice.
'School choice is all-encompassing. It's charter schools, it's different education opportunities. It's open zoning, the ability to receive transportation to go to a different school versus a traditional place where you reside,' Lombardo said.
In the 2024-2025 school year, more students were enrolled in Nevada charter schools than in the Washoe County School District, making charters the second largest school system behind the Clark County School District.
Five new charter schools are scheduled to open this fall for students, four of them are in Clark County.
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