The Nevada Department of Education released new star ratings for public schools on Friday, showing that roughly 58 percent are meeting or exceeding academic expectations.

The release of the Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF) information marks the first time since 2014 that public elementary, middle and high schools have received the star ratings. Last year, the department issued “informational” ratings for elementary and middle schools only.

The new framework, which is more rigorous and aligned with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, uses multiple metrics specific to each grade level to ascertain a school’s overall performance. The accountability system uses a scale of one to five stars. Five-star schools exceed all expectations, while one-star schools did not meet state performance standards.

Of the 678 schools rated this year, 108 received five stars, 96 received four stars, 189 received three stars, 185 received two stars and 100 received one star. About 42 percent of schools fell in the one- and two-star category, which indicates their students aren’t meeting grade-level academic expectations. (See the full list of star ratings here.)

In the Clark County School District, which serves the most students, 44 elementary or middle schools increased their star ratings, while 96 schools saw their ratings slide backward.

“We have our work cut out for us,” state Superintendent Steve Canavero said. “We always have, and that is absolutely true now as it has been true in the past, but it is with great gratitude extended to our teachers, our principals, our superintendents, our boards — we are making progress in many, many, many places.”

Seventeen elementary and middle schools moved up to a three- to five-star rating this year, education officials said. On top of that, the graduation rate jumped by 7 percentage points to reach 80.85 percent, the highest rate on record.

Some of the star rating increases were driven by student growth on statewide proficiency tests known as the Smarter Balanced assessments. Every grade level except one posted gains on the English Language Arts and math tests.

This year every campus within a network of charter schools also received a star rating, which officials from the State Public Charter School Authority lauded as a great step toward transparency. Three-fourths of the state-sponsored charter schools received a three-, four- or five-star rating.

“I’m particularly happy to just see our sector lead the way as it pertains to the state’s goal of becoming the fastest-improving state in the country as far as education outcomes are concerned,” said Jason Guinasso, who chairs the charter authority.

Still, the performance framework revealed other areas that need work. For instance, chronic absenteeism among elementary students increased 2.5 percent compared with last year.

The framework also lists 148 “Rising Star” schools, which will receive intensive supports with the goal of moving to three stars within three years. The designation means those schools are performing in the bottom 5 percent statewide, received a one-star rating or graduated fewer than 67 percent of students.

Last year, the education department identified 91 schools for the first “Rising Star” cohort. Fifty-seven schools were added based on the 2018 data. Schools remain in the group for three years, during which time their progress is closely monitored.

Thirty-three schools from the first “Rising Star” cohort made so much growth last year that they no longer meet the designation criteria. Cambeiro Elementary School in Las Vegas, for example, climbed to three stars this year, and Caliente Elementary School in Lincoln County moved all the way up to four stars.

Achievement gaps between student subgroups continue to be a concern for state education officials.

“We are seeing that those gaps are not closing,” Canavero said.

Another designation — Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools — aims to help close those achievement gaps. TSI schools, which cannot have a rating higher than three stars, have a student subgroup that for two consecutive years has not met specific performance targets.

One-hundred twelve schools — 49 elementary and 63 middle schools — received a TSI designation this year. State education officials said the TSI designations led to an overall decrease in the number of four-star schools statewide.

The number of four-star elementary schools decreased by 3.8 percent this year, while the number of middle schools in that category dipped by 7.1 percent.

But not every school that saw its star rating decline was the result of a state designation.

Sunrise Acres Elementary School, which was profiled in The Nevada Independent’s “Stars & Struggles” series, fell to three stars this year and is not considered a TSI school. Last year, the urban elementary school celebrated a big jump when it moved from two to four stars.

Despite the overall decrease in four-star schools, 48 Clark County schools were able to maintain or achieve that rating. Among them: Guy Elementary School in North Las Vegas, which increased from two to four stars this year.

Principal Wendy Garrett attributed the growth to a transformation of the school’s culture. The school community focused on its core belief — that every child can and will achieve as a result of high expectations, she said.

Guy Elementary School shares a block with a charter school — Legacy Traditional North Valley — and its sister district school, Eva Wolfe Elementary. Guy Elementary School outperformed both of its neighbor schools. Legacy Traditional North Valley received two stars, while Eva Wolfe Elementary School received one star.

Superintendent Jesus Jara said Guy Elementary School stands as proof of what all Clark County schools are capable of achieving.

“Our children in CCSD will compete with anybody,” he said.

Clark County’s high schools seemed to fare better than elementary and middle schools in the ratings, although there is no historical comparison given the time gap since the last ratings. But 13 Clark County high schools received five stars, 10 received four stars, 19 received three stars, 10 received two stars and five received one star. All of the district’s career and technical academies as well as its College of Southern Nevada high schools received five stars.

Elementary and middle school star ratings are based off the following performance measures: academic achievement, student growth, English language proficiency, opportunity gaps and student engagement. The measures for high schools include academic achievement, graduation rates, English language proficiency, college and career readiness, and student engagement.

“The new NSPF is built on different criteria from its previous release in 2014, realigning expectations to ensure students are adequately prepared to succeed in college or career with more rigorous requirements,” Canavero said in a statement. “This new NSPF has a renewed emphasis on growth in student achievement, a commitment to students from all backgrounds succeeding, and added measures of English language proficiency and school climate.”

A total of 127 public schools were not rated this year. State education officials said those schools were either too small or lacked enough year-over-year data to measure for a star rating.

This story was updated at 1:37 p.m. to include more information released by the Clark County School District.