NSPF Star Rating Decoder — How Nevada Calculates School Performance

NSPF stands for the Nevada School Performance Framework. Every public, charter, and alternative school in Nevada receives a 1–5 star rating each year from the Nevada Department of Education. The rating combines academic achievement (math and ELA proficiency), academic growth (year-over-year improvement), closing opportunity gaps across student subgroups, chronic absenteeism (elementary and middle schools), graduation rate (high schools), and college and career readiness (high schools). Each school also gets an index score from 0 to 100 — two 4-star schools can sit 15 index points apart, which is why the index score matters alongside the star tier.

The decoder uses a transparent heuristic, not Nevada's official black-box NSPF formula. Statewide averages shift modestly each year and NDOE weights components differently for elementary, middle, and high schools. The decoder is positioned as a guideline — accurate enough to understand how a school is likely to score, but not authoritative. Always confirm with the official NSPF profile on the school's page on NevadaSchools.org.

The simplified decoder focuses on achievement (math/ELA proficiency), engagement (chronic absenteeism), and graduation outcomes. Academic Growth Percentile (AGP) and Closing Opportunity Gaps are weighted components in NSPF that this tool does not approximate. A school with modest proficiency but strong growth often outperforms a school with high proficiency and weak growth — the published NSPF index accounts for that, this simplified tool does not.

For the 2024–25 NSPF cycle, the Nevada statewide math proficiency rate is approximately 41% in elementary, 38% in middle school, and 36% in high school. The statewide ELA proficiency is approximately 49% in elementary, 47% in middle school, and 52% in high school. The statewide chronic absenteeism rate is 24–25% in elementary and middle school, and 32% in high school. The statewide four-year graduation rate is 85.4%.

Title I status is a federal funding designation — it tells you the school serves a higher proportion of students from low-income families. It is not a quality rating. Many of Nevada's top-rated schools are Title I schools. Filter Title I status alongside NSPF star rating on the school's profile on NevadaSchools.org to see the full picture.

Chronic absenteeism is one of the six components of the NSPF. A school where fewer than 10% of students miss 10% or more of the school year earns maximum points in this component. Schools where 20% or more of students are chronically absent lose a meaningful portion of their index score. The statewide chronic absenteeism rate in Nevada is around 25%, which is above the national average — making this component a real differentiator across Nevada schools.