The Nevada Department of Education released the 2026 Nevada School Performance Framework star ratings on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. The ratings measure how each public school performed in the 2025 to 2026 school year. They are live now on the Nevada Report Card, also called the Nevada Accountability Portal. Clark County School District's own September 15 newsroom post says 157 CCSD schools landed at 3 stars or higher, including 32 five star schools and 50 four star schools.
What is the Nevada School Performance Framework?
The NSPF is Nevada's public school rating system. The Nevada Department of Education NSPF page says schools earn points on several measures, those points add up to an index score from 1 to 100, and that score becomes a star rating from 1 to 5. One star is the low end. Five stars is the high end.
NDE's short Nevada School Rating System handout puts plain labels on each band:
Five stars: a superior school that exceeds expectations for all students and subgroups.
Four stars: a commendable school that has performed well for all students and subgroups.
Three stars: an adequate school that has met the state's standard for performance.
Two stars: a school that has partially met the state's standard.
One star: a school that has not met the state's standard.
The same handout notes that schools with low overall performance or low performing subgroups can be identified for extra support. That designation is separate from the star number itself.
NDE rates elementary, middle, and high schools on different indicator mixes. The 2025 to 2026 NSPF Technical Manual and CCSD's October 8, 2026 board presentation, Revised Reference 4.01(A), both list the point buckets. Elementary weight lands heavily on growth. Middle school adds academic learning plans and grade 8 credit rules. High school swaps growth for graduation rates and college and career readiness. Chronic absenteeism shows up at every level.
How the index score sets the stars
The technical manual and the October 8 board slides use the same cut points. For elementary schools: under 27 points is 1 star, 27 to under 50 is 2 stars, 50 to under 67 is 3 stars, 67 to under 84 is 4 stars, and 84 to 100 is 5 stars. Middle schools: under 29 is 1 star, 29 to under 50 is 2 stars, 50 to under 70 is 3 stars, 70 to under 80 is 4 stars, and 80 to 100 is 5 stars. High schools: under 27 is 1 star, 27 to under 50 is 2 stars, 50 to under 70 is 3 stars, 70 to under 82 is 4 stars, and 82 to 100 is 5 stars.
The Nevada Report Card FAQ says an index score is the sum of points across indicators, then matched to those bands. It gives the example that 81 index points classifies as a five star school, but under the 2025 to 2026 tables that holds only for a middle school. An 81 is four stars at an elementary or high school. Read the school level on the report before you treat a number as a band.
Schools that lack enough student records in the required measures are labeled Not Rated. Statewide, NDE's September 15 release counted 76 Not Rated schools out of 860.
How do I look up my CCSD school's star rating?
Open nevadareportcard.nv.gov. Under "I want to see District or School Data," type your school's name in Search, or choose Clark under District and then the school. Click Go. The school's at a glance page opens. Open the School Rating Report tab for the full NSPF card. The portal FAQ says prior years are available from the year drop down, and that a school can carry separate elementary, middle, or high reports when it spans more than one level.
The rating year on the card is the school year that was measured. A 2025 to 2026 card is the 2026 release. Southeast Career and Technical Academy's 2025 to 2026 high school card, checked November 4, 2026, shows a 93.5 index score and a five star rating, up from 92.5 the year before. That is the kind of page you want for your own campus: index score, star label, and the indicator breakdown underneath.
What the 2026 ratings showed for CCSD
From CCSD's September 15 newsroom post, checked against NDE's release the same day:
Of 353 CCSD schools with comparable year over year ratings, 49 improved by at least one star and 209 held steady. CCSD puts that at 73 percent improved or maintained.
139 CCSD schools raised their index scores from 2025 to 2026.
157 CCSD schools earned 3 stars or higher, with 32 at 5 stars and 50 at 4 stars. Three star schools rose from 70 in 2025 to 75 in 2026.
Middle school math proficiency rose 2.5 percentage points. High school English language arts rose 2.4 points, from 48.9 percent to 51.3 percent. High school science rose to 27.3 percent. Chronic absenteeism fell at elementary, middle, and high school levels.
CCSD's October 8 board slides show the other side: five star schools fell from 48 in 2024 to 2025 (19 elementary, 15 middle, 14 high) to 32 in 2025 to 2026 (12 elementary, 5 middle, 15 high), and one star schools rose from 73 to 89 over the same two years.
NDE's statewide table for 2025 to 2026 listed 122 five star schools, 119 four star, 162 three star, 219 two star, 162 one star, and 76 Not Rated. Statewide, five star schools fell from 146 the year before. Eleven schools statewide gained two or more stars. Two of those were CCSD campuses: R. Guild Gray Elementary School and Green Valley High School.
On October 12, 2026, CCSD named its Superintendent's Honor Roll. That list is 79 schools: the 32 five star campuses, plus 51 schools that raised their index score by 10 or more points. Four schools appear on both lists. The five star Honor Roll names include Advanced Technologies Academy, Coronado High School, Green Valley High School, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Lied STEM Academy, Palo Verde High School, Southeast Career and Technical Academy, West Career and Technical Academy, and the three College of Southern Nevada High School campuses, among others. The full roster is on that October 12 post.
What star ratings mean for school choice
A star rating is one public number. It does not decide a Magnet or Open Enrollment seat.
Magnet and Open Enrollment applications for 2027 to 2028 are open through Tuesday, January 12, 2027, at 3:00 p.m. The Magnet Fair is Saturday, November 14, 2026. Our Magnet Fair prep guide and Open Enrollment checklist walk the deadlines. The district's Open Enrollment capacity sheet includes an NSPF Rating column, which our capacity list guide notes without a printed year label on the sheet, so confirm the live Report Card before you treat that column as current.
When two Magnet programs teach the same subject, the whole school star rating can still differ. Our side by side Magnet comparison uses Southeast CTA and Eldorado High School as the example, five stars against three. That gap is a whole school result. It does not grade one classroom inside the building.
Use the stars to shortlist, then read the indicator page for proficiency, growth, graduation, and absenteeism, and still tour for fit. NDE's September 15 release also says the department is refreshing the NSPF during the 2026 to 2027 school year, so next year's framework may not match this year's cut points line for line.
Who to call
Nevada Department of Education, Las Vegas office, from the NSPF page: 2080 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119. Phone 702 486 6458. Carson City office: 700 E. Fifth Street, Carson City, NV 89701. Phone 775 687 9115. The rating system handout lists adaminfo@doe.nv.gov for the Office of Accountability. NDE's September 15 release lists Public Information Officer Julie Wootton-Greener at julie.woottongreener@doe.nv.gov or 702 486 6602.
For a question about your child's CCSD school, call the school office first. District switchboard: 702 799 2273 (702 799 CCSD).
CCSD Insider is an independent parent resource and is not affiliated with the Clark County School District.