LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – According to Clark County School District data, students are struggling in the classroom, particularly with reading.

The board of trustees will hear a presentation on Thursday regarding projected proficiencies for students in several grade levels.

Data prepared for the discussion shows that nearly 1 in 4 high school students are projected as reading proficient for the ACT. The decline in college readiness is steeper for students at Title 1 schools, as about 1 in 5 are projected proficient.

“Always disappointing,” Marie Neisess, president of the Clark County Education Association, said. “As an educator, we want to see the growth that our students need to make in order to be able to be proficient in every subject area.”

Neisess said the failures in achievement start with district leaders.

“I don’t think the growth is moving as quickly as we would all like, and I think it starts at the top with Superintendent [Jesus] Jara,” Neisess said.

CCSD administrators, including Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, discussed student achievement at an October board of trustees meeting.

“We’re not happy with the results in totality but given where we’re coming from, where we’ve been, and even as we kicked off this school year, we’ve seen some great reports,” Jara told members of the board on Oct. 12, 2023.

The next month at the November board meeting, Jara also mentioned the poor outcomes in student achievement.

“The impacts of COVID, we still don’t know how deep we’ve fallen academically and also socially, emotionally for children and educators,” Jara said on Nov. 9, 2023.

Neisess said there has to be a greater emphasis on third grade.

In the data set CCSD’s board will review Thursday, 1 in 3 third graders are projected reading proficiently to pass the state exams.

“In the first couple of years, it’s a learning to read. You shift from third grade on, and then it’s reading to learn, meaning reading to comprehend. Students can’t comprehend if they’re struggling with basic knowledge of reading skills,” Neisess said.

CCSD’s board of trustees meeting will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Northeast Career and Technical Academy.