The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Petersen Dean Es
Petersen Dean Elementary sits on Cambridge Street 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 charter or magnet, and its enrollment is sized about as you would expect for a Las Vegas elementary serving this grade band. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a small white population and a handful of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which marks this as a community facing concentrated economic need.
On state assessments, the most recent results place proficiency well below where most parents would want it. In math, roughly one in six tested students reached proficient or above on the SBAC. In English language arts, about one in five cleared that bar. Science results were stark, with no tested students reaching proficiency. Participation was strong across all three subjects, so the results reflect nearly the full tested population rather than a skewed sample. A parent weighing this school may want to look into what supports and interventions the school is putting in place, and how it is responding to these numbers specifically.
We looked for trend data to see whether proficiency was moving in any direction, but no multi-year series was available, so there is no clear before-and-after picture to draw. Average scale scores were also missing from the state data, so the proficiency rates are the main academic signal available.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no AP, dual-credit, or career pathway data applies to this grade band. Data on staffing ratios, discipline, attendance, course access, and civil-rights indicators was not provided, so those pieces of the picture are absent here. English-learner and special-education enrollment counts were also missing from the available data. Given the school's demographic profile and the reality that Las Vegas elementary schools often serve substantial numbers of English learners, a parent may want to ask the school directly about those services.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below both the Nevada and national benchmarks for typical home values. Values and rents have both been declining recently by a comparable margin, so families looking to buy or rent nearby would find costs lower than much of the Las Vegas metro. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home in this area exceeds the typical rent by a few hundred dollars, and the rent-to-income ratio comes in at a level most households can manage. The broader mortgage rate environment remains elevated nationally, which affects affordability even in a relatively lower-cost pocket like this one.
We searched for recent Clark County School District policy, curriculum, or funding changes that would matter to parents, but publicly reported results focused on county geography and government structure rather than school-level developments. No district-level changes surfaced in the search, so there is little to relay on that front.
Taken together, Petersen Dean is a neighborhood elementary serving a high-poverty community with a student population that is largely Hispanic and Black. The state test results are low across the board, and the science results in particular are a clear area of concern. The housing market around the school is relatively accessible by Las Vegas standards. What is missing from the available data, from staffing and discipline to English-learner services and trend lines, means a parent would want to ask direct questions of the school administration before forming a full picture.
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