Lots to be Proud of Regarding Nebraska's Public Schools

I love Nebraska and I am so proud of the great work being done around this awesome state in our tremendous public schools!

• Did you know that over 86% of Nebraska Public High School students took the ACT in 2014? Their average composite score of 21.7 is the HIGHEST IN THE NATION for states that had 80% or more of their students taking the ACT! (http://blog.prepscholar.com/act-scores-by-state-averages-highs-and-lows)

• During 2014-15, Nebraska Public School students achieved some impressive results on the NeSA (state assessments). (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)
o 80% were at/above proficiency on NeSA-Reading (An 8% increase since 2010-11)
o 72% were at/above proficiency on NeSA-Math (A 9% increase since 2010-11)
o 72% were at/above proficiency on NeSA-Science (A 5% increase since 2011-12)
o 72% were at/above proficiency on NeSA-Writing (A 4% increase since 2012-13)

• Did you know the percentage of Nebraska Public School students that qualify for free or reduced meals has grown from 30% in 2000-01 to over 44% now? (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)
o Nebraska Public Schools are doing more than ever in our communities to offer robust programming to meet the needs of our ever-changing diverse learners and we are PROUD TO DO SO!

• Did you know that 52.16% of Nebraska’s Public School teachers have a Masters’ Degree or higher? This is an increase of almost 7% since 2010-11. (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)

• The 2014-15 school year marked the 5th year in a row that the average daily attendance of Nebraska Public School students was over 95%! (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)

• The total number of Nebraska Public School students has increased from 284,912 in 2000-01 to over 312,000 today. (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)

• Nebraska has one of the best high school graduation rates in the nation, with nearly 90% of our seniors graduating. (http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx)