A Study Says Nevada's Extra Money for At-Risk Students Is Not Raising Graduation Rates

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

WestEd is a nonprofit research agency. The state hired its staff to look at whether Nevada's at-risk money is working. The report was co-written by Patrick McClellan, an education finance research associate at WestEd, and Kelsey Krausen, WestEd's director of education finance.

Their main finding was simple. Over two school years, "no impact was found on the impact of at-risk status on academic or attainment indicators," McClellan told the Review-Journal. The study looked at graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and test results in math, science, early literacy and English language arts. Students who got the extra money did not do better on any of those measures than similar students who did not.

There was some good news in the report. The tool Nevada uses to pick at-risk students seems to work. Nevada gives the at-risk label to students in the bottom 20 percent of something called a GRAD score, which stands for Graduation Related Analytic Data. The score is calculated by an artificial intelligence program using roughly 70 measures of student need and performance, according to the report. WestEd found that the program did a good job of spotting which students were likely to struggle. The problem was what happened after the money arrived.

About 93,000 Nevada students qualified as at risk last school year. But only about 52,000 of them actually brought in at-risk dollars, McClellan said. That is because Nevada does not let funding categories "stack." A student who is at risk and also qualifies for another category, like special education or English learner help, only brings in money for one of those needs. The other 41,000 or so students were funded through other pools instead.

The $3,320 per student is about the same as what other states pay for similar programs, the report said. Under Nevada law, schools can spend at-risk dollars on things like free pre-K, teacher training and reading skills centers. In Clark County, the district's budget approved in May sets aside more than $159 million for at-risk weighted funding through June 30, 2027.

The authors were open about the study's limits. It covered just two school years. And the results apply only to students right on the edge of the at-risk cutoff, not to every student who gets the label. So the study tells us the money is not clearly helping kids near that line. It does not prove the money never helps anyone.

An adult and a child reading a book together in a library, the kind of reading support at-risk funds can pay for in Nevada schools

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

CCSD is the biggest school district in Nevada by far. So when a statewide funding program is not working, Clark County families feel it the most. The $159 million in CCSD's budget is real money that could pay for tutors, reading coaches, counselors or smaller classes. Parents and taxpayers have a fair reason to ask whether it is reaching the right kids in the right way.

It also matters because CCSD's budget is already tight. In late September, FOX5 reported that a state emergency regulation let districts be funded on projected enrollment instead of lower actual counts. CCSD said that step headed off mid-year teacher layoffs and program cuts, and that all staff will keep their jobs through this school year. When every dollar is stretched, a program that is not showing results gets a lot more attention.

There is also the question of how schools can plan. Amanda Morgan, executive director of the policy group Educate Nevada Now, told the Review-Journal that the money can disappear once a school starts to improve. Her point: if more students' GRAD scores rise above the cutoff, the school loses at-risk dollars the next year. She said she knows of one school that dropped intervention programs after losing $1 million in at-risk funding because it had improved enough students' scores. Schools may be afraid to build long-term programs when the money behind them can vanish.

It helps to picture what $159 million can look like inside a school. Under state law, at-risk money can pay for free pre-K seats, training for teachers, and reading skills centers. Each school decides its own mix. That flexibility is a strength, because a school in Henderson may face very different problems than a school in east Las Vegas. But it also makes results harder to measure across a district as large as CCSD. When the money is spread across hundreds of schools and many kinds of programs, it is tough to see what is working and what is not.

For families, the takeaway is practical. If your child struggles in school, the help they get may depend less on a state label and more on how their own school chooses to spend its money. Knowing what your school offers, and asking about it, matters more than ever.

Even if you do not have kids in school, this touches you. Public school quality is one of the things that shapes a neighborhood over time. When school spending works, communities benefit. When it does not, people notice, and that conversation shows up at school board meetings, in the Legislature, and eventually in how families choose where to live.

Background and History

For decades, Nevada paid for schools under a system called the Nevada Plan, which dated back to 1967. In 2019, lawmakers replaced it with the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan. The new plan gives every student a base amount, then adds extra money, called "weights," for students with greater needs. The weights cover English learners, at-risk students, and gifted and talented students. Students with disabilities are funded through their own separate pool.

When the new plan started, Nevada counted every student who qualified for free or reduced-price meals as at risk. That changed in 2023. Education Week reported that a late change to a 2023 school funding bill launched the GRAD score approach. The score comes from Infinite Campus, the student information system Nevada schools use. It runs from 50 to 150 and is built from dozens of factors, such as test scores, attendance and behavior.

The switch had a huge effect on the count. According to Education Week, the number of at-risk students in Nevada fell from about 288,000 in 2022-23 to about 63,000 the next year. That dropped the share of students bringing in at-risk money from nearly 60 percent to about 13 percent. Fewer students qualified, but the dollars per student went up. In early 2024, Education Week reported that each qualifying student added 35 cents for every dollar of base per-pupil funding. Today, the WestEd report puts the extra amount at about $3,320 per student. State officials said the old count overstated need and that the new way sends more money to the students who need it most.

A green classroom chalkboard, representing the school funding formula debate in Nevada and the Clark County School District

Critics pushed back from the start. School officials felt the loss of funding. Advocates said many low-income students no longer counted. In late September, presenters told the Commission on School Funding that an estimated 40,000 economically disadvantaged students do not get at-risk funding under the current model, FOX5 reported. Those presenters also pointed out that Nevada is unusual in not letting weights stack.

The bigger picture is about total funding, too. FOX5 reported that Nevada's per-pupil funding in 2025-26 was $13,889 including weights, and about $9,800 for base funding alone, both below the national average. The Commission on School Funding has recommended at least $250 million more each year over 10 years. So the at-risk study lands in the middle of a much longer conversation about how much Nevada spends on schools and how it spends it.

What Happens Next

The Commission on School Funding will now weigh the study as it makes recommendations. The WestEd authors floated a few ideas. If Nevada lets weights stack, they suggested the state fund a set number of at-risk students instead of a set share of students, as it does now. Krausen said that approach would protect districts from losing money as enrollment falls, which is a national trend that has already caused budget headaches in Nevada. "If it's a set number, then that number can be revisited and increased should enrollment overall increase across the state," she said.

The authors also said districts and schools may need coaching on how to use at-risk money well. Krausen noted that there is not much research on the best ways to support at-risk students. She said local leaders should study their own students' needs before spending the money. "There is likely not one intervention that fits the needs of all students," Krausen said. FOX5 also reported that the commission is reviewing a rolling average for at-risk designations, which could ease the problem of schools losing money right after they improve.

Not everyone agrees on the fix. Educate Nevada Now's Morgan said the study does not show extra funding fails. She said it shows the money is aimed wrong, and that poverty is a reliable way to find the students who need support. She pointed to Clark County's former Victory Schools, which got targeted state money in some of the state's highest-poverty ZIP codes and showed positive results. On the other side, Anahit Baghshetsyan, a policy analyst at the think tank Nevada Policy, called the current approach "a waste of taxpayer money" and said she does not believe stacking weights would lead to better results. She said the dollars are there, but the good policies are not.

A high school graduate tossing a cap into the sky, the diploma milestone Nevada hopes its at-risk funding will help more students reach

The WestEd authors also offered one note of comfort. McClellan said the lack of any negative effect is reassuring, even though the study found no positive effect either. Krausen said giving extra money to students who are economically disadvantaged or otherwise at risk is in line with best practice across the country. She added that school leaders around the state have made it clear the money is critical to the support they provide. In other words, the researchers see this as a reason to fix the program, not end it.

Any big change to the funding formula would likely go through the Nevada Legislature. Watch for the commission's recommendations and for how CCSD reports on its own at-risk spending in the months ahead.

Ryan's Take

I am not an education expert, and I will not pretend to know the right formula. But I talk with families every week who are moving here or moving across town, and schools come up in almost every one of those talks. What I hear is that parents want to know the money is doing what it is supposed to do. This study gives everyone a clear starting point. The tool finds the right kids. The money arrives. The results are not showing up yet. That is a fixable problem, and both sides of this debate seem to agree the current setup needs work.

From a housing view, school quality is a long game. It shapes neighborhoods over years, not weeks. I would not make a buying or selling decision based on one study. But I would pay attention to how CCSD and the state respond. Clear goals, honest reporting and programs that last more than one budget cycle are good for students, and over time they are good for every neighborhood in the valley, from Henderson to Summerlin to North Las Vegas.

A student writing on paper during a lesson, reflecting the test scores measured in the WestEd study of Nevada at-risk funding

What You Can Do

Start with your own school. Every CCSD school makes choices about how it uses its weighted money. At your next parent-teacher conference or School Organizational Team meeting, ask what supports the school offers for students who are falling behind. Ask about tutoring, reading help and attendance programs. If your child is struggling, ask directly what help is available and how you can get it.

Follow the bigger decisions, too. Nevada's Commission on School Funding holds public meetings, and its agendas and materials are posted by the Nevada Department of Education. The CCSD Board of School Trustees also meets in public and takes comments on budget items. You do not need to be an expert to show up or send a comment. A short, respectful note about what you see in your own school can carry real weight.

If you are house hunting and schools matter to you, look beyond star ratings. Visit the school. Ask about programs for kids who need extra help and kids who are ready for more. And check the school zone for any address you are serious about, since boundaries can change. Our related stories above cover the latest CCSD boundary proposals and magnet school deadlines.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.