LAS VEGAS (AP) — For the first time in four years, Nevada is not last in the nation in a public education ranking.

Instead, it's next-to-last.

Education Week's latest Quality Counts report card ranks the Silver State 50th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. New Mexico dropped to 51st.

The state Department of Education celebrated the small improvement with a news release late Tuesday, and state schools chief Jhone Ebert called it a step in the right direction.

But she said educators are "in no way satisfied" and know that Nevada has a long way to go.

The report says Nevada made the largest gain of any state, even though it still earned an overall grade of D-plus.

Nevada's improvement includes gains in K-12 achievement.

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com