Before COVID-19 hit in 2020, Oregon had one of the United States’ worst state graduation rates, but it was on an encouraging trajectory of ever-improving results. The pandemic and virtual learning derailed thousands of students, and the rate dropped from a record high.
Oregon and the federal government poured billions into education trying to restore students academically. The graduation rate initially nudged back up, but Oregon Department of Education data released Thursday showed progress has mostly stalled.
The 2022-23 Oregon graduation rate was 81.3%, the same as the previous year. Within student demographic groups, the results were mixed. Nearly all nonwhite ethnic and racial groups lost ground, but within other groups targeted for extra support there were some signs of success.
Students who completed English learner programs before high school and migrant students reached record highs of 87.6% and 81.6% respectively. Special education students gained more than a percentage point to 68.6%, and homeless students gained 2 percentage points to 60.6%.
This year also includes new data points, with rates for military connected students, students who have experienced incarceration or detention, and students who recently arrived.
The Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which runs out in September, has provided a huge injection of cash for schools to address student and facility needs. School leaders will now face questions about what they have to show for it. Oregon school leaders are also being asked about Oregon’s graduation requirements, which changed during the pandemic.
The annual graduation data will just throw fuel on those fires, even though the answers for individual districts are more nuanced.
Federal and state funds went to facility maintenance, staff retention and student well-being, all of which are longer-term factors in student academic success. More direct state investments in things such as career and technical education programs seem to being paying dividends. Ninety-five percent of students who took at least two CTE classes graduated.
Oregon has one of the highest state credit requirements for graduation. During the pandemic, the Oregon State Board of Education suspended the assessment of essential skills, additional tests to affirm students had learned the lessons in their classes. Critics called it lowering Oregon’s standards, but an ODE report said the assessments were not useful or applied equitably.
The Legislature and the State Board of Education are both looking deeper at graduation requirements, and the latest results will likely be part of that discussion.
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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