State releases 2016-17 school, district report cards

School and district report cards are now available on the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) website. Each of the state’s 1,240 schools and 197 school districts have a report card with information including student demographics, performance on state assessments, student outcomes and educational programs.

For example, the Bend-La Pine Schools’ six-page report card shows an overall four-year graduation rate in 2016-17 of 77.5 percent, up slightly from the previous year’s 77.2 percent and well ahead of the statewide figure (74.8 percent) but slightly below the like-district average of 77.9 percent.

Like last year, schools did not receive an overall rating on their report card due to the state’s plans to redesign the report card in response to new flexibility under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Next year, ODE will release a redesigned report card aimed at sharing information that is meaningful and accessible to parents, families and the broader school community.

“Our goal is to provide a more comprehensive look at schools and districts,” Acting Deputy Superintendent Colt Gill said. “For far too long, we have relied solely on academic data in just two subjects to communicate about the schools’ strengths and areas for improvement, and we know schools have more to share regarding how they provide an equitable and well-rounded education to students.”

ODE staff is in the middle of the redesign process, gathering input from parents and stakeholder groups to determine exactly what data is most important and how best to present information in a way that is helpful to families and their communities.

While the new report cards will have a standard look, there will be an opportunity for each school and district to highlight programs and activities that make them unique and aligned to the needs of the communities they serve.