VICTOR JOECKS: Only 110 black male CCSD 8th graders proficient in math

Recently, the Board of Trustees received an update on student achievement. It was depressing. In the 2018-19 school year, nearly 50 percent of third- through fifth-graders were proficient in English. That’s horrible. Last year, it dropped to 40.8 percent.

The results were worse in math. In 2018-19, more than 42 percent of third- through fifth-graders were proficient in the subject. Last year, it dropped all the way to 31 percent.

These dismal results were an improvement over the previous year. That was expected, because schools were actually open last year. As these numbers show, the decision by Gov. Steve Sisolak and district officials to keep schools closed in fall 2020 was a disaster. For tens of thousands of students, the consequences will be lifelong and dire.

These results should have gotten top administrators fired. Instead, the board recently handed Superintendent Jesus Jara a $1.5 million contract extension.

If you want to be even more depressed, look at learning outcomes for Black and Hispanic kids.

There were 3,790 Black eighth graders enrolled last year. Just 241 tested proficient in math. Of the 1,988 Black male eighth graders, only 110 were proficient in math. There were only five middle schools last year with 10 or more Black students proficient in math. There are around 60 middle schools.

English was better but is still a disaster. Proficiency among Black eighth graders was 24.1 percent. Data is from the Nevada Report Card. Small rounding errors when making calculations are possible.

Consider Clifford Findlay Middle School in North Las Vegas. It enrolled 109 Black students last year. None — tragically, not a single one — is proficient in math. Just 12 are proficient in English. Of the 123 Black eighth graders at West Preparatory Academy, two tested proficient in math.

Among third- through eighth-graders, 11.8 percent of Black students are proficient in math. That includes 21 percent of third graders and declines rapidly as the grade level increases.

Hispanic students don’t fare much better. Clifford Findlay had 169 Hispanic eighth graders last year. Seven were proficient in math. In English, 30 were proficient. Duane D. Keller Middle School had 349 Hispanic eighth graders. Nine were proficient in math. In English, 62 were proficient.

Overall, 19.5 percent of Hispanic students were proficient in math, while 34.7 percent were proficient in reading.

While the district is a disaster, Black and Hispanic kids have the worst of it. This can’t all be blamed on the pandemic shutdowns. It’s a rebuke of the critical race theory concepts Jara has pushed throughout his tenure. That worldview blames systemic racism for educational differences, rejecting alternative explanations such as family structure, income and lousy schools.

Jara gutted school discipline because he thought the district suspended too many Black and Latino students. He lowered standards for students wanting to attend magnet schools. He dumbed down district grading standards. He and the board passed an anti-racism policy based on CRT. In January 2020, he pushed a report bemoaning the lack of Black and Latino students in advanced math courses. Less than two weeks ago, the district announced a study on “equity in contracting.”

Jara has been trying to hide the symptoms of racial disparities instead of fixing what’s causing them — low achievement among Black and Hispanic students.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Invite charter school operators to run failing schools such as Clifford Findlay and Duane D. Keller. Give students who want to leave $6,000 in an education savings account. That would reduce the teacher shortage. There are many examples of school choice boosting minority student achievement.

At a minimum, Jara should recognize his policies have disproportionately harmed the learning of Black and Hispanic students.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.