Oregon Dept. of Education releases 2021-22 school, district profiles; COVID-19 impacts evident

Bend-La Pine, Redmond see enrollment declines, early-grade attendance drop, echoing state

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Education released Thursday the At-A-Glance School and District Profiles for the 2021-22 school year. At-A-Glance School and District Profiles are designed to provide key school and district level information to local communities. 

“While we must continue to back students with the academic, social, emotional and mental health support they need, it’s encouraging to see the critical 9th Grade On-Track numbers rise as students returned to in-person instruction,” said Oregon Department of Education Director Colt Gill. “Daily in-person instruction helps students receive the close attention and support they need to learn and thrive. The more students can come to school, the more we can meet their individual needs and help them succeed.”

Following two consecutive years where the profiles were modified due to data collection disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, this release marks a return to inclusion of all data, except for the individual student progress indicator which will return next year.

The At-A-Glance School and District Profiles contain previously released assessment data for last school year, previously released graduation data for the class of 2021 and some new data for the 2021-22 school year. The profiles provide a quick and comprehensive approach to share how schools and school districts are serving students.  

Key Statewide Information

• The statewide 9th Grade On-Track data shows a nine percentage point increase during the 2021-22 school year. While still slightly below pre-pandemic levels, this shows schools were able to support students as they re-entered full time, in-person instruction. 9th Grade On-Track is an important predictor of graduation outcomes and informs educators about which students need additional support to graduate on-time. The statewide 9th Grade On-Track figure declined 11 percentage points the previous academic year, 2020-21.
• Statewide hiring of school district staff (including teachers and counselors) rebounded and grew above pre-pandemic levels.
• Class sizes in 2021-22 were generally two to three students smaller than in 2018-19.
• The regular attender rate for the 2021-22 school year was down nearly 15.7% from the 2018-19 school year. The COVID-19 Delta surge in the fall and the Omicron surge in the winter and spring dramatically impacted student attendance.
• The profiles include college going rates (including public and private 2-year and 4-year schools) for Class of 2020 graduates. This is the percentage of graduates that enrolled in postsecondary education by Fall 2021. College going rates declined from 61.8% for the Class of 2018 to 56.4% for the Class of 2020. These declines are similar to national college enrollment declines between Fall 2019 to Fall 2021. Declines were greater for older college students.
• For the first time ever, the profiles feature data on students in foster care.

District Profiles are available on the At-A-Glance Profiles and Accountability Details page and school districts are required to make them available to their community. 

“The 2021-22 school year marked the return to in-person instruction for all students across the state, but the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic still presented challenges that required strength, resiliency and resolve from all of Oregon’s students, families and educators,” Gill said. “Data is a vital tool that informs how we invest in and serve students and highlights disparities for student groups as well as disproportionate impacts from COVID-19. Our communities and districts can use the information in this year’s profiles to provide every student with the support they need to graduate.”

The challenges of the past few years are evident when comparing Bend-La Pine Schools’ 2021-22 profile with 2018-19, including a roughly 1,000-student drop in enrollment, to 17,151. Grades K-2 “regular attenders” (90% or more school days) fell from 84% to 60% (Oregon’s overall numbers fell from 83% ti 65%). 

The percentage of students meeting grade-level expectations in English and math fell to 53% and 36%, respectively. But the percentage of students on-track to graduate in their ninth grade rose from 88% to 91%, and the on-time (within four years) graduation rate held steady at 82%.

A similar comparison in Redmond School District profiles found enrollment down about 400 students in three years, to 6,837, K-2 “regular attenders” down from 81% to 65%, declines in students meeting English and math grade-level expectations, ninth-graders on track to graduate dropping from 88% to 78% but four-year graduation rates rising from 83% to 85%.