Nevada Schools (Las Vegas: buying a home, neighborhoods, buying)

[RedWingsFan]

I've been saying on these boards over and over that the schools, especially those in Las Vegas (Clark County) are not good. While some people like to repeatdly refute that (olcapt), the data once again shows this. A new report came out in the education industry that shows what I've been saying all along. Nevada has a 55.9 percent graduation rate. In the state rankings for a chld's success rate (because of education) they come in 43 out of 50 states (50 being the worst). You can see the full report here: link:http://www2.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2...supptables.pdf
remove the word "link" in the address, I was afraid the system would remove the whole link without me putting it there.

This isn't the only report that shows how bad the schools are there, there others, all one needs to do is search. If you want to know about the schools in a city just go to a place like greatschools.net and look up the district or the particular school. It will give you the demographic breakdown, how many kids get free lunch and if they are passing their tests or not. Do your homework on schools before buying a home. Otherwise you could be putting your child in a lousy school, setting them up for low achievement and not being fully prepared for college (if they make it that far).

[greatbasinguide]

The test scores are correlated to zip code. Choose your zip code carefully

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by greatbasinguide

The test scores are correlated to zip code. Choose your zip code carefully

Absolutely! Make sure to also look at demographics. Most people, whether they admit it or not, want their children going to school with a bigger population of a certain race. That information is available online...

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by greatbasinguide

The test scores are correlated to zip code. Choose your zip code carefully

The deck is stacked. The southwestern states are relatively cheap. But school expenditures are given considerable weight in a number of these surveys.

The real performance number however are not great...but they are middle of the pack for a large urban school district.

Green Valley had nine National Merit Finalist this year. A-Tech had five. Both quite respectable numbers indicative of a good academic program.

I would think the top quarter of the schools are on par with good suburban districts elsewhere.

[english_teacher]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Green Valley had nine National Merit Finalist this year. A-Tech had five. Both quite respectable numbers indicative of a good academic program.
I would think the top quarter of the schools are on par with good suburban districts elsewhere.

Having nine (or five) merit finalists DOES NOT indicate a good academic program in a school. It merely indicates that nine (or five) parents were involved in their kid's education. If the academic program was so "decent", there would be more and converesly, some excellent schools don't even participate.
Schools that are "decent" offer pre-AP/AP classes, languages besides Spanish, advanced level math courses, and extra-curricular activities other than football. Further, decent schools also refuse to socially promote and attract highly-qualified teachers as per No Child Left Behind (NCLB) who are teaching in their area of certification. Finally, all good schools have one thing in common--involved and supportive parents who believe in hard work rather than entitlement. Find an excellent community with those standards, and you'll probably find a decent school.

For a more in-depth understanding of academic performance and school quality, look to the State reports as well as Federal.

[olecapt]

The schools cited score well on any criteria you chose. While National Merit Finalist is somewhat anecdotal it still correlates reasonably well with good academic programs. One finds dedicated parents in volume in situations where the school is pretty good. I would note that it is also pretty consistent from year to year. It also tells you something about the demographics of the school area. Low socio-economic neighborhoods rarely provide National Merit semifinalists.

[CHEWY12]

I see job applicants in my industry all the time that can not complete a very simple math test.
Does any one have an idea that would make the system work again ?
I am running out of resources as my people are retiring and I can not find replacements.

[RedWingsFan]

The RJ had a story on this as well, here's the link:http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho.../11779333.html It's pretty interesting...

[CHEWY12]

Thanks for the link RedWingsFan.

I wonder just how many of today’s students could do the math associated with this article? The Internet is such a great tool. With just a few key strokes you can find out how thing are going in other parts of this country.It seems to me that we all share a common problem. High operating costs in government and a log jam in the way of getting resources into the hands of those that need them.

Thanks for sharing

CHEWY12

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by CHEWY12

Thanks for the link RedWingsFan.

I wonder just how many of today’s students could do the math associated with this article? The Internet is such a great tool. With just a few key strokes you can find out how thing are going in other parts of this country.It seems to me that we all share a common problem. High operating costs in government and a log jam in the way of getting resources into the hands of those that need them.

Thanks for sharing

CHEWY12

True! As a side note, school problems aren't just in Nevada, it is an issue nationwide. Schools by and large are not preparing students for life, jobs, college... but personally I think the burden lies more on the parents than the schools. A parent that is involved in their child's education and instills in them that it is a must, a necessity, and they demand good academic behavior, then I think the school they go to isn't as important...within reason of course. But it starts at home...