Audit: Oregon needs to step up efforts to boost graduation rates

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Audits Division released an audit Tuesday of the Oregon Department of Education, focusing on ways the agency can help schools increase Oregon’s graduation rate, among the worst in the nation.

ODE provides oversight and support to individual schools and school districts in Oregon’s public K-12 education system. The audit found ODE should improve its practices and support to districts and schools to reduce the risk of students not graduating within four years.

The findings are outlined in the report entitled: “The Oregon Department of Education Should Take Further Steps to Help Districts and High Schools Increase Oregon’s Graduation Rate.”

“Last week, The Oregonian published an article highlighting that Oregon is ranked third-worst in the nation for graduating high school students on time,” said Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. “We need Oregon’s Department of Education to step up its game and assume its leadership role to make Oregon a leader in education. Oregon students deserve a world-class education, and it’s ODE’s job to show how to get there.”

ODE has been given the ambitious state goal of graduating 100% of our high school seniors by 2025. However, auditors found that the following ODE practices do not promote attaining this goal:

Students who transfer into a new school district at any point in their high school career struggle to graduate within four years, and have a graduation rate 30% lower than students who stayed in the same district. This analysis and reporting is not part of ODE’s normal tracking of student transfer data. Schools with mid-range graduation rates receive limited improvement support from ODE, even though most non-graduates attend these schools. More than half of Oregon’s students are classified as economically disadvantaged, and they make up more than 70% of students who do not graduate on time. Middle school performance or student transitions from middle school to high school have not been emphasized, even though students who struggle in middle school are already on a path to not graduate from high school. ODE does not collect individual student grades and specific student credit attainment data. This data would help ODE analyze (1.) when students are most likely to fall off track, (2.) which courses have high failure rates, and (3.) how student success or failure in specific courses relates to graduation. Many districts and schools contacted during the audit process indicated the need for additional community help in analyzing student data and communicating the importance of graduating to parents. Drawing on education research and approaches from other states, the audit recommends ODE employ additional efforts to better support students who change school districts during high school, students at schools with mid-range graduation rates, and low income students.

The audit also recommends ODE help districts coordinate transitions from middle to high school, collect individual student performance data, and provide districts with improvement tools and guidance for communicating with students, families, and the communities.

“The ODE must aggressively assess and assist school districts if they are to provide the help students need to be successful in school and graduate on-time,” Richardson said. “Developing the next generation of leaders is critical to the future of Oregon.”

Read the full audit on the Secretary of State’s website (http://sos.oregon.gov/Pages/index.aspx) or highlights on the Audits Division blog (https://oregonaudits.org/).

The agency that’s the subject of the audit said it welcomed the recommendations as a validation of steps already underway to tackle the issues.

Here’s ODE’s news release:

An audit released today from the Oregon Secretary of State highlights the important work under way at the Oregon Department of Education to improve Oregon’s graduation rate and provides recommendations to build on that work and help prepare more students for graduation with a plan for their future.

“We appreciate the Secretary of State and the Audits Division staff for spending time on this topic and sharing thoughtful recommendations to further our work to improve high school graduation rates,” Acting Deputy Superintendent Colt Gill said. “Many of the themes raised in the audit are consistent with what we have been identifying in recent years, and we look forward to continuing to develop and implement a variety of strategies to help more students graduate.”

Among the audit recommendations are tactics like providing targeted support to students in specific groups with lower graduation rates, such as highly mobile students who transfer between schools and districts, economically disadvantaged students, and middle school students. Another is to provide support to schools with mid-range graduation rates rather than emphasizing focus on schools with the lowest graduation rates.

ODE has focused its work on disparities in outcomes experienced by many student groups, including American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students, African-American/Black students, Hispanic/Latino students, students with disabilities, students experiencing economic hardship and English language learners. The department has worked with stakeholders to develop success plans for these groups of students. Although outcomes have improved for African-American/Black students and Hispanic/Latino students, there are still sizable gaps that exist for many groups.

“Addressing opportunity gaps between student groups is an ongoing priority, and we look forward to building upon recent success in narrowing those gaps,” Gill said. “This work includes providing guidance to districts on best practices to making schools a welcoming place for all students to get a relevant, well-rounded education.”

Other audit recommendations include developing initiatives and collecting data about middle schoolers, identifying strategies to better support economically disadvantaged students, and providing better support to districts on using data and continuous improvement plans. Some examples of programs and policies either already in place or expected to be implemented soon consistent with the audit’s recommendations are:

· The Oregon Framework for School Counseling, which provides intentional focus on advocacy and socially just outcomes by embodying the Oregon Equity Lens to ensure the creation of a data-informed, equity-based school counseling program that helps close achievement, opportunity and attainment gaps and access for all students.

· The High School Success Fund (Measure 98), which allows districts to spend up to 15 percent of their allocation on 8 th grade, which can help keep middle school students engaged in school and ease the transition to high school.

· Guidance on the use of Early Indicator and Intervention Systems, which helps districts use data to identify students that need more supports before they get too far behind on their path to graduation.