Caught Red Handed
The Nevada education system isn’t graduating more high school seniors because of amazing educational improvements – just the opposite.
Nevada is graduating more seniors because standards were lowered in 2012-2014.
This is shown in the figure below (made from Nevada Department of Education data):
- Clark county’s high school graduation rate went from 59.3% in 2012 to 85.5% in 2020, an increase of 45% in eight years.
- Washoe county went from 69.6% in 2013 to 86.0% in 2020, an increase of 23.5% in seven years.
- The rural counties went from 72.6% in 2013 to 85.3% 2021, an increase of 17.5% in eight years.
The Explanation
This chart was sent to Nevada DOE and the superintendents of Washoe and Clark County school districts, asking for an explanation of the substantial rise starting in 2012.
- An unsigned response from Clark Co. referred me to NV DOE.
- No response was received from Washoe; however on October 15, 2025, Superintendent Ernst was interviewed by Jon Ralson at IndyTalks. Mr. Ernst said “I will tell you firsthand, as a teacher, as a principal, we’re not failing.”
The data from Nevada Department of Education tells a different story.
The public affairs officer at NDOE provided three explanations.
- In 2014 the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) was eliminated.
- The American College Testing (ACT) exam replaced HSPE, adding “there is no required minimum level of performance… [to] qualify for a diploma.”
- Standards were lowered for End Of Course (EOC) exams. As of 2017 “students no longer had to pass the EOCs to graduate.”
Obama’s ESSA
A data expert at one of the rural districts told me the rest of the story.
Prior to 2014 Nevada high school students had to (1) earn all required credits and (2) pass the HSPE in order to graduate high school.
Then, came Obama’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the lowering of graduation standards.
That is why, now in Nevada, a student only has to sit for the ACT and EOC exams.
They don’t actually have to pass any of these exams.
So long as they have completed required courses, students will graduate regardless of what scores they achieve.
This means Nevada high school seniors can graduate even if they cannot read, write, or perform basic math very well.
The True Number Who Earn a High School Diploma
The true number of Nevada students who earn a high school diploma is about 63.4%.
Why Were Graduation Standards Lowered?
In the era of leftist, feminist, socialist education, schools shifted focus away from reading, writing, arithmetic and rhetoric, to instead becoming indoctrination centers where students are now taught:
- To feel good about themselves, even when they do poorly.
- To be outspoken on complex topics they actually know very little about.
- To lack the capacity to re-consider their views when exposed to evidence which disproves them (as rhetoric would have taught them).
- To care what their peers think of them, rather than relying upon an inner knowledge they are faithful to good standards.
- To know their racial, religious, economic, disability, and other identities (this being somewhat schizophrenic).
- To see themselves as the victim of multiple oppressions.
- To see themselves as gender fluid, rejecting biologically verified categories of male and female.
- To be social justice warriors for whom violence is a viable alternative when they don’t get their way.
- To hate and actively discriminate against White and Asian people–even if they are themselves Asian or White.
- To hate strong men and masculinity.
- To be ashamed of, and even hate America.
- To vote leftist, socialist, feminist, and anti-democratic.
- To support censorship of conservative people.
Cleaning Up This Mess
It took decades for the left to remake K-12 education into a woke factory.
Consequently, reform won’t happen in a day. Got diligence?
President Trump has begun dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, which has imposed a lot of woke on state departments of education.
This was done through regulation and conditional grants.
For example, to be awarded a grant to buy more school buses, a school district would need to prove they have a DEI office, etc.
Consequently, the Nevada Department of Education will gain greater autonomy.
The citizens of Nevada need to prepare for this opportunity now, because NDOE needs substantial reformulation.
Of the seven voting members of the State Board of Education (SBE), who control the Nevada DOE, four are elected and three are appointed by the governor (see NRS § 385.021).
Not a Pretty Picture If Aaron Ford Is Elected
Imagine what would happen if Republicans are apathetic and don’t turn on to vote in 2025, and consequently Aaron Ford is elected Governor.
President Trump will have given Nevada a second chance to correct the errors of woke education, and Ford and the leftists will increase woke control of the SBE.
They will insure the education of Nevada’s children turns further left.
Consequently, for the sake of the children, it is essential to (1) re-elect Governor Lombardo, and (2) work tirelessly to change the composition of the SBE.
When conservatives regain control of the SBE, our marching orders should be to educate children, protect children, and respect parents.
A good starting place would be to revive textbooks, lesson plans, and teaching methods from long ago when graduating Nevada high schoolers could read, write, perform basic math, and who understood the basics of rhetoric.
We also need to return to minimum standards to graduate. Graduation isn’t a right.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
