Education Outlook 2026Developing Well-Rounded Students

 

For years, Nevada’s K-12 education system has ranked near the bottom of the 50 states. Through lessons learned during the early pandemic days and well-rounded curricula, superintendents and principals across the state hope to rewrite Nevada’s education reputation.

The Numbers

In 2025, Nevada’s state-wide K-12 graduation rate increased by nearly 4 points to 85.4 percent.

Clark County, the largest district in the state with over 20,000 high school graduates a year, was one of the districts driving this growth.

“While we [still] have work ahead of us, our district is on the move,” said Clark County School District (CCSD) superintendent Jhone Ebert. “The graduation rate for the class of 2025 was 86.6 percent, up from 81.5 percent for the class of 2024. This was an increase of 5.1 percent in one year, outperforming the state average.”

The second-largest district is Washoe County School District (WCSD), which averages just about 4,000 graduates per year. WCSD also saw gains from 2024, increasing graduation rates to just over 83 percent from 81.9 percent.

“These graduates represent thousands of young adults ready to continue their education, enter the workforce, and contribute to our community,” said WCSD superintendent Joe Ersnt. “Their achievements are the result of strong and nurturing partnerships between schools, teachers, students, and families.”

Getting habitually absent students back in the classroom was a big boost for graduation rates, Ebert said.

“CCSD reduced chronic absenteeism rates by 4.4 percent [this year],” she said. Ebert said this growth is a result of reaping seeds sown starting back in 2020.

“I attribute much of this success [to] federal investments made during the pandemic that allowed us to staff our classrooms better, invest in quality curriculum, and focus on enriching professional development,” she said. “[It is also thanks to the] investment made in our schools in the 2023 Legislative Session.”

Private schools, like The Meadows School, a preK-12 in Las Vegas, have continually had high graduation rates.

“Meadows’ students consistently perform well above state averages across academic indicators,” said Dr. Jay Berckley, head of school at Meadows. “We maintain a 100 percent graduation rate, […] results that compare favorably with top private schools internationally.”

Putting Students to the Test

Both public and private schools across the state put more emphasis on testing in the last year.

In the CCSD, state assessment scores are also up. “Every grade level demonstrated an increase in year-over-year change in English language arts, mathematics, and science, as shown by our students on state summative assessments,” Ebert said.

These gains were at every grade level, but particularly with middle schoolers. “The largest district-wide gain was a 4.9 percentage point improvement in middle school English language arts proficiency,” she said.

Bri Thoreson, principal of Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, a private school in Reno, said that although more and more state and nationwide exams are becoming optional, her school will continue to administer exams like the PSAT and SAT.

“We still test everyone,” she said. “We have every student take these exams and submit scores.” Doing so helps prepare students for the “real world” – and helps the school know how it can improve.

“These exams allow students to see their weak points in knowledge and skill, and then seek out support from teachers or their families to improve,” she said.

Pursuit of Higher Education and Career Readiness

Graduating from high school and enrolling in a college or university is a very typical path for senior students across the country. At Meadows, it’s been the only outcome.

“All of our graduates continue to four-year colleges and universities, including highly selective private institutions, flagship public universities, and specialized programs in engineering, liberal arts, business, and innovation,” Berckley said.

Thoreson’s private school, also a college-prep campus, has similar trends with upwards of 80 percent going to colleges and universities across the country. “We send many students to the University of Nevada, Reno,” she said. “And a growing number of our graduates are going to southern schools like Auburn and Ole Miss.”

Although college is the typical path for private high school graduates, both Berckley and Thoreson emphasized that it’s not the only one.

“We fully support multiple post-secondary pathways and emphasize thoughtful fit over prestige,” Berckley said. “Our goal is not to funnel students into a single outcome, but to help them make informed, purposeful choices aligned with their strengths and aspirations, with the skills and aspirations to lead in our ever-changing global economy.”

The public schools in the state also offer multiple paths with neither “good” nor “bad” connotations.

“Students have many options in CCSD,” Ebert said. “They can obtain a certification in our career and technical education schools, join the military, or enroll in a two-year college program or a four-year degree program. It’s our job to prepare them with the skills they need for the future they have in mind.”

Public schools across the state offer a “College and Career Ready Diploma,” which graduating students earn if they take and pass language, work-based learning, and upper division math courses in addition to regular course loads.

In the CCSD, the number of students achieving this advanced degree is also climbing.

“I’m especially proud that a record 7,011 graduates of the class of 2025 earned the rigorous College and Career Ready Diploma, representing nearly 30 percent of the graduating class,” Ebert said.

About half of the students end up attending a college or university and earning credits for these programs while still in high school.

“For college-bound students, we’ve seen significant growth in dual enrollment,” Ebert said. “In fact, a study from the Community College Research Center recently found that Nevada had the second-highest growth in dual enrollment in the country in recent years, a 31 percent increase in the number of students taking college courses in high school.”

This improvement in enrollment came from CCSD making readiness in any form a point of emphasis in schools.

“CCSD is prioritizing workforce and college readiness as key to our vision of becoming a destination district,” Ebert said. “We’ve invested in career and technical education to double the number of students passing workplace readiness skills assessments.”

The trends are similar in WCSD, with just over half of public high school graduates attending college after graduation.

WCSD also allows students to enroll in career and technical education (CTE) courses outside of the CTE-designated high schools.

“[We believe in] CTE for all,” Ernst said. “Our comprehensive CTE high school programs feature a rigorous, applied curriculum that includes opportunities to earn college credit and industry certifications, gain 21st-century skills, and develop connections between school and the real world.”

Internships are also a newer focus, with the program launched in 2023-2024.

“We established relationships with several local businesses, offering invaluable opportunities for students,” Ernst said.

In its first year, 13 students received an internship or apprenticeship. This year, nearly 200 students across the district are working with organizations like PBS Reno, PK Electrical, and Girls on the Run.

These opportunities help students stay engaged in their own learning. “This is a crucial part of our community to [students’] education, and we continue to nurture and expand programs [like this] to support our students and families.”

Fostering Student Wellbeing

Behind the scenes of the improving test scores, graduation rates, and college and career placements is a stress on student well-being.

“Preparation for life beyond high school goes well beyond academics,” Berckley said. “We focus on critical thinking, communication, adaptability, ethical leadership, and self-direction.”
Meadows achieves this balance through course offerings, class structure, and outside-of-the-classroom support.

“Students are challenged intellectually while also being known and supported as individuals, through our advanced curriculum, project-based learning, leadership opportunities, active participation in the arts, athletics, a myriad number of engaging clubs and extracurricular activities,” he said. “Along with strong and personable advising, students graduate not only ready for college or career, but ready to navigate complexity and change with confidence.”

Thoreson said she has also seen an uptick in students seeking holistic education.

“High school environments are very scripted,” she said. “Our students wake up at a certain time every day, go to class, athletics, and school events. Their lives are planned, and then they arrive at college or in the workforce, and suddenly, that script goes away. We want students to leave here knowing how to find identity and community when it’s not scripted for you.”

Bishop Manogue achieves this by giving students more autonomy to plan schedules, meet with teachers, and select courses.

“The social and wellness components of school are as important as the academics,” she said. “We teach kids to advocate for themselves.”

As a Catholic school, Thoreson said part of her students’ advocacy has translated into “pouring into faith.”

“There’s been a shift in what students want in the last few years,” she said. “For a variety of reasons, I see students attending regular Bible studies more often, organizing service projects, asking questions – it’s a significant difference compared to the last 20 years I’ve been here.”

Education Technology

The adaptability schools are teaching students is especially important in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Developing a mindful, relevant curriculum with AI so accessible is one of K-12 education’s biggest challenges, Ebert said.

“Of course, we are keeping an eye on the evolution of AI and how it impacts learning,” Ebert said. “We view AI as the biggest economic shift since the Industrial Revolution.”

The Stellar Pathway to Teaching and Learning is the state’s “guidance document” for approaching AI tools.

“[With these guardrails], slowly, we are moving from ‘don’t touch this’ to ‘here is how you use this responsibly to solve problems,’” she said.

In the CCSD, AI is being introduced in waves. “We are piloting AI use in some schools, and we see students use AI to debug code, edit essays, and conduct research,” Ebert said. “It’s shifting their mindset from ‘getting the answer’ to ‘refining the process.’ Ultimately, technology is the tool; the teacher is the driver. AI handles the data so our educators can handle the humans.”

Other kinds of edtech are also being introduced to schools. i-Ready is the newest for WCSD, an online learning source for educators to better personalize lesson plans to students’ learning level.

“The adoption of i-Ready provided personalized reading and math support to every student in K-8 […] also contributed to system-wide improvements in K-8 education,” Ernst said.

At Bishop Manogue, Paper Tutoring, a virtual tutoring site, has also made a big difference.

“Giving students these tools that they can use on their own or outside of school is important to their growth,” she said. “You get home, and you can’t figure out an AP physics question – I’m a mom, and I know I wouldn’t be able to help with a question like that. With these education tools, students can learn to work through things more independently.”

Meadows is taking a similar approach to technology in schools. “We continue to evolve thoughtfully rather than reactively,” Berckley said. “Over the past year, we’ve sharpened our focus on instructional excellence, student agency, and real-world application of learning. That includes thoughtful and proactive conversations surrounding AI, and a renewed emphasis on relationships as the foundation for meaningful learning. Our approach is intentional, research-informed, and always centered on what best serves students.”