For one year, no rating on Ore. school report cards

The state Department of Education released annual report cards Thursday for Oregon’s 1,236 schools and 197 school districts — but they lack something from past years: an overall rating.

The report cards help local schools and districts tell their story by providing information on student demographics, performance on state assessments, student outcomes, educational programs, and information on how schools compare to others around the state.

This year, schools did not receive an overall rating on the report card due to the transition to new statewide assessments in English and math.

The U.S. Department of Education granted Oregon a one-year pause on report card ratings in light of the transition to new standards and a new assessment.

The results of the assessment – which represent a new baseline for the state – are included in the report cards. However, no overall ratings or comparison school ratings were issued. Report card ratings will resume on the October 2016 report cards.

“Oregon’s school and district report cards contain a wealth of information for parents and communities about their local schools,” Deputy Superintendent Salam Noor said. “Student learning is about so much more than a single test score, and these report cards help to paint a more complete picture about the work our schools are doing to support student success.

“I hope these reports will spark conversations across the state about our schools’ successes, opportunities for growth, and the ways in which we can all support improved educational outcomes for our kids.”

Oregon’s school and district report cards have been released annually since 2000 and were redesigned a few years ago as part of Oregon’s federal flexibility waiver to make them more user-friendly, visual, and better tell the state’s educational story.

Access school and district report cards online at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx.