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Study: Oregon's Grad Rate Lags

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Steven Carter, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Jun. 21--Fewer than seven in 10 Oregon high school students graduate on time with a diploma, according to a national study on graduation rates released Tuesday.

The analysis puts Oregon and Washington below the national graduation rate of 70 percent, with Oregon at 69 percent and Washington at 68 percent.

The four-year graduation rate across the country ranged from 53 percent in South Carolina to 85 percent in New Jersey. All figures are from the 2002-03 school year, the latest for which state-by-state comparisons are available.

The study was done by researchers for the Editorial Projects in Education, which publishes the national schools journal Education Week. The study compared the number of students in each grade of high school over a four-year period. As students move from ninth grade through senior year, more quit each year, reducing the size of their graduating class.

Many states reported graduation rates in the 80 percent to 90 percent range, but research director Christopher Swanson said they aren't calculating the four-year rate.

"Our research paints a much starker picture of the challenges we face in high school graduation," he said.

Oregon calculates its graduation rate by comparing how many students graduate in one year with the sum of graduates and dropouts for the same year. That ratio for 2002-03 was 81 percent, compared with the graduation figure of 69 percent for four years by Editorial Projects in Education researchers.

The national study showed Oregon had the lowest graduation rate in the country for African Americans, 25 percent, compared with 52 percent nationally. Brian Reeder, an assistant Oregon school superintendent, said he doubted the accuracy of that number -- he calculated the African-American graduation rate in Oregon at 57 percent for that year, using the same data the national study used.

Oregon historically has had a high annual dropout rate, reaching 7.4 percent in 1994-95. In 2002-03, the latest year for which figures are available, it was 4.6 percent. But that rate doesn't tell the full story because it typically doesn't count students who move to a second-chance alternative school and don't get enough credits to earn a diploma. The dropout rate also doesn't count students who get a General Educational Development certificate even though it is not equivalent to a diploma.

The United States pays a heavy price when students don't complete high school. Over a lifetime, an 18-year-old who doesn't finish high school will earn $260,000 less than a graduate and pay $60,000 less in federal and state taxes, according to Princeton University researcher Cecilia Elena Rouse. Other research shows that high school dropouts are more likely to commit crimes, less likely to vote and more likely to need public assistance.

Susan Castillo, Oregon school superintendent, said the report points up the urgency of high school reform.

"We are doing a terrific job with elementary schools," she said. "But when you start moving into middle and high school, we run into challenges. We need to approach this with a sense of urgency."

Castillo said she's hopeful that Oregon's improving economy means that schools will be able to restore some of the people and programs that help students stay in school. These programs were cut as school budgets shrank during the first part of the decade, she said.

Oregon has a goal for reducing the high school dropout rate to 4.0 percent a year by 2010. Individual high school rates for 2004-05 have been delayed by a new electronic reporting system that took school district clerks time to get used to. Department of Education officials said the figures are being double-checked by school districts before being released.

To see the study, go to www.edweek.org/dc06

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Oregonian

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