Oregon Graduation Rates Better Than 2019, Drop From Last Year

PORTLAND, OR — At first you might look at the high school graduation rates released by the state Thursday and think that had taken a turn for the worse. Overall, 2 percent fewer high school students graduated in 2020-21 than had the year before.

Education officials point out that many consider the 2020-21 school year an anomaly as the state had loosened standards as schools were dealing with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 80.6 percent of Oregon students who graduated in 2021 after 4-years of high school, was a bump from the 80 percent of the students in the class of 2018-19, the last full year before the pandemic.

"The data released today both demonstrates the tremendous resilience of Oregon’s youth and makes it clear that COVID-19 not only had a disproportionate impact on the health of Oregon’s communities of color, it also had a far greater impact on students of color," Oregon Department of Education Director Colt Gill said.

Gill pointed to $24 million that had been provided to school districts across the state to help students earn credits that would were counted toward graduation.

"Districts are also using funds from the Student Success Act to improve access and opportunities for students who have been historically underserved in the education system," Gill said.

The new numbers show continuing improvement in the graduation rates of students of color.

The state points to the growth compared to the class of 2014, the first class after the state had made changes to how the data was collected.

Overall, the graduation rate jumped to 80.6 percent from 72 percent, students Asian students saw their graduation rate jump to 91.9 percent, Black students jumped to 73.5 percent from 60 percent, Hispanic and Latino students jumped to 77 percent from 64.9 percent.

"We have made significant investments and reforms to help ensure all students, regardless of their zip code, are prepared for lifelong success," Governor Brown said.

"But there is so much more work to be done to address the needs of Oregon’s students, particularly given the impacts the pandemic has had on them, not only on their academic and career readiness, but on their mental, social, emotional, and behavioral health."

This article originally appeared on the Portland Patch