The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Smith Hal Es
Smith Hal Elementary sits on East Desert Inn Road in Las Vegas, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Clark County School District. It is a regular public school, not a magnet or charter, and it draws from a working-class section of the valley where housing costs run well below the Nevada statewide benchmark. Typical home values in the surrounding zip code sit below the national median, and rents are modest by Las Vegas metro standards. Both home values and rents have eased slightly over the past year, which may make the area relatively accessible for families renting or buying on a tight budget. Every student at Smith Hal qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a clear signal that the school serves an economically disadvantaged community.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with smaller groups identifying as two or more races, white, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. The enrollment is large for an elementary school, with students spread fairly evenly across the grade levels from kindergarten through fifth, plus a pre-kindergarten cohort.
On state assessments, Smith Hal's results are weak across the board. In math, only a small fraction of tested students reached proficiency. English language arts was somewhat stronger but still low, with only a modest share of students meeting the proficiency bar. Science results were the most concerning, with no tested students scoring proficient. Participation rates were solid, so the results reflect nearly the entire eligible student body rather than a skewed sample. Average scale scores were not reported, so it is not possible to look beyond the proficiency cut line to see how students clustered below it. A parent considering this school may want to ask the administration what interventions and support structures are in place to move students toward grade-level proficiency, especially in math and science.
Several pieces of information that would help round out the picture are missing. The data does not include counts or rates for students with individualized education programs or for English learners, so the size of those populations and the services they receive cannot be characterized here. There is no locale brief for the surrounding neighborhood, so details about nearby amenities, transit, or community character are unavailable. No program offerings were reported, which means nothing can be said about extracurriculars, before- or after-school care, specialized instruction, or enrichment. Staffing data, including teacher experience or student-to-staff ratios, is also absent. Title I status was not reported, though the universal free-or-reduced-lunch eligibility strongly suggests the school likely receives Title I support. Discipline and attendance data were not provided.
The Clark County School District brief did not surface any recent parent-relevant changes such as curriculum shifts, rezoning, tax measures, or policy updates. This does not mean nothing is happening at the district level, only that the search did not return concrete findings worth reporting here.
What the available data paints is a large elementary school serving a high-poverty neighborhood in east Las Vegas, with state test results that point to serious academic challenges. The housing market around the school is among the more affordable corners of the metro, which may appeal to families for whom cost of living is a primary concern. The academic results, though, suggest that families looking at this school should ask hard questions about what the school and district are doing to improve instruction, what tutoring or intervention resources exist, and how progress is being tracked year to year.
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