Oregon’s statewide school report card released

The 2016-17 Oregon Statewide Report Card is now available on the Oregon Department of Education website. The annual report provides a statewide look at Oregon’s kindergarten through grade 12 education system, including key data on the state’s students, teachers and schools.

“Education is the key to moving our state forward, and the information in this report provides a clear overview of the challenges we face and the opportunities for excellence ahead of us,” Acting Deputy Superintendent Colt Gill said. “I hope that the data here will start conversations about how together we can continue to improve our education system for every student in the years to come.”

The 2016-17 Statewide Report Card includes:

— Graduation and dropout rates

— Early childhood data

— Attendance and chronic absenteeism data

— Student demographics and information on specific student groups

— School funding and staff information

— Test results

— Charter school data and information on alternative education programs

Among the data in the 87-page report.

Charter school enrollment has risen dramatically over the past 10 years, from 1.7 percent to 5.6 percent of enrolled students.

The report says Oregon has made some progress in hiring and retaining a more racially and ethnically diverse set of teachers, but has not kept pace with the increasing diversity of students. Students of color now make up more than one-third of Oregon’s K-12 population.

In the 2016-17 school year, the number of full-time equivalent school employees rose by 3.21 percent, to over 68,000. But the proporion of those positions held by teachers dropped slightly, remaining under 45 percent. In 2014, Oregon was one of just six states where teachers comprised less than 45 percent of total staff.