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Geoff Johnson: Why Oregon scrapped state-wide tests as a graduation requirement

Opponents argued the loss of the graduation requirement devalues Oregon鈥檚 high school diploma, but state education officials claimed the test requirement was hurting marginalized students
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A law passed in 2021 suspended a requirement that Oregon students in the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024 demonstrate proficiency on statewide Essential 颅Learning Skills tests 聴 which tested students in reading comprehension, science and mathematics 聴 in order to graduate. NAREK75 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Recent changes in Oregon’s public high school ­graduation requirements have shaken the stability of the otherwise well-established public education system in that state.

Oregon is sometimes thought of as being a kind of easygoing, granola, hippie kind of state. So before we get into the details of the controversial ­revisions to ­Oregon’s high school graduation requirements, let’s take a look at the unwieldy legislative and ­administrative structure that governs decisions about public education in that state.

The Oregon Department of Education is somewhat similar in structure to the sa国际传媒 Ministry of Education except — and it’s a big “except” — that the department administers the more than 1,200 K-12 schools in its 197 school districts.

In comparison, sa国际传媒, with a population of about five million — compared with Oregon’s 4.2 million — has 60 school districts, each with its own school board, that operate the province’s approximately 1,600 public schools.

In Oregon, each district has its own superintendent but a very high turnover has resulted in 60 superintendents being in the first or second year of the job.

That’s not a sign of stability.

Overseeing all this potential turmoil is the politically appointed Oregon State Board of Education, a kind of state school board that sets educational policies and standards for the 197 school districts.

The state board of education meets six times a year and is made up of seven members appointed by the ­governor and confirmed by the state senate. Five ­members represent Oregon’s five congressional ­districts, and two members represent the state at large. Members serve four-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms.

In short, Oregon has many cooks stirring the ­education broth.

Oregon’s current education troubles really began in June of 2021 with a new law — Senate Bill 744 — that ordered the Oregon Department of Education to review state graduation requirements.

The bill suspended a requirement that Oregon ­students in the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024 ­demonstrate proficiency on statewide Essential ­Learning Skills tests — which tested students in ­reading comprehension, science and mathematics — in order to graduate.

In addition, Bill 744 required the department to research graduation requirements in other states. At least 34 U.S. states require students to complete ­specific state-wide assessments as a graduation requirement.

In short, Oregon’s Bill 744 left 197 school districts to establish their own graduation requirements.

This did not sit well with Oregon’s post-secondary institutions, or, for that matter, many parents.

But the new law passed the Oregon legislature ­anyway and without much fuss, with only a handful of legislators speaking in favour or against.

According to a report in the Oregonian newspaper, the seven-member politically appointed state board claims that while most high school students will still take in-school standardized tests, those tests won’t be used to determine whether a student has the skills ­necessary to graduate, which begs the question as to what the test results will be used for.

A state board news release defended the ­legislation, pointing out there was no convincing correlation between the graduation tests and first-year college ­success, and arguing that research indicates the ­Essential Learning Skills tests have not improved ­first-year college readiness.

Opponents to the move away from the state ELS tests argued that the loss of the graduation ­requirement devalues Oregon’s high school diploma.

State education officials countered by claiming that the practice of requiring all students to pass the tests was hurting historically marginalized students and was a misuse of state tests.

In comparison to Oregon, sa国际传媒 Grade 12 students, in order to graduate, must earn a minimum of 80­ school-based course credits but also write a provincewide Grade 10 numeracy assessment as well as provincewide Grades 10 and 12 literacy assessments.

One positive result of the change in Oregon, ­according to Elizabeth Miller of Oregon Public ­Broadcasting, has been that the four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2022 in Oregon was 81.3%, up slightly from the previous year’s graduation rate.

Miller said graduation rates improved across all ­student groups, with some of the largest gains for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders and among ­students experiencing homelessness.

The graduation rate for migrant students also jumped, surpassing the state average, Miller said.

No data was available comparing in-school results across the state.

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Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.