For immediate releasecontact Christine Miles, 503-947-5637 January 27, 2012 Oregon Graduation Rate Continues to Increase Oregon dropout rate hits all-time low (Salem, Ore.) –State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced today that student graduation rates are on the rise and Oregon is seeing an all time low in the number of students dropping out of high school. The four year graduation rate for 2011 was 67%, up from 66% in 2010. All of the state’s historically underperforming subgroups saw increases in their graduation rates and in many cases their graduation rates grew faster than for the state overall, indicating a slight closing of the graduation gap. “While these results are encouraging and show that our state is succeeding at graduating more of our students within four years, there are simply far too many kids not reaching this critical milestone,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo. “I am very pleased to see the continued gains in minority and low-income graduation rates, but despite these gains we still have close to half of our Native American, African American, and Hispanic students who aren’t graduating on time. These results are a clear reminder of the work left to be done to ensure that all of our students graduate from high school ready for college and career.” This graduation rate looks at a cohort, or group, of students who entered high school in the 2007-08 school year and tracks how many graduated with a regular high school diploma within four years. Students who receive a modified diploma, GED, adult high school diploma, or alternative certificate are not counted as graduates in this model. The cohort graduation rate is calculated by taking the number of students in the group who graduated with a regular diploma within four years and dividing that by the total number of students who entered high school in 2007-08, adjusted for students who move into or out of the system. Since some students need more than four years to complete graduation requirements, the Oregon Department of Education also calculates a five-year graduation rate. The five-year graduation rate for students who entered high school in 2006-07 was 70.5%. Click here  for statewide cohort graduation rates.
Cohort Graduation Rates At-A-Glance:
Dropout rates In 2010-11, Oregon’s dropout rate hit an historic low of 3.3% percent, down from 3.4% in 2009-10. As required by federal law, Oregon uses a one-year dropout calculation for accountability purposes, so the dropout rate is not the inverse of the graduation rate. And since not all non-graduates are dropouts, the dropout rate and graduation rate are not directly comparable. Click here for more information on who is and is not considered a dropout and for details on the 2010-11 dropout rate. 2010-11 Dropout Rates by Student Group:
“While looking at graduation and dropout rates is important, we need to remember that simply graduating from high school is not good enough anymore,” said Superintendent Castillo. “We need to ensure that our students have the skills to succeed once they leave our schools whether they go to college, join the military or go directly into workforce training. Over the past several years we have raised the bar and asked more of our students with increased credit requirements and higher standards. This year we will have our first class of graduates required to demonstrate their proficiency in reading in order to earn their diploma. These requirements will help make sure that our students leave our schools with the knowledge and skills they need to compete, contribute, and thrive.” For an audio clip of Superintendent Susan Castillo, go to: http://video.orvsd.org/ode/1-25-12-Grad-rates.MP3
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