Deputy Superintendent Rob Saxton today announced that Oregon’s 4-year graduation rate for 2012 was 68.4%, up only slightly from the previous year’s rate of 67.6%. The state also saw a slight increase in the dropout rate, with 3.4% of students dropping out of high school last year as compared to an all-time low of 3.3% the year before. These results provide base-line data for tracking progress toward the state’s 40-40-20 goal which calls for 100% high school completion by the year 2025.
 
“This year, we welcomed the graduating class of 2025 into our kindergartens,” said Deputy Superintendent Rob Saxton. “As a state, we have committed to an ambitious vision for education. That vision calls for all students completing high school and the vast majority of them going on to higher education or workforce training programs. Our current system just isn’t getting us there.  Moving the dial on this will require rethinking how we serve our students from early childhood through higher education. It will take bold, transformational, and fearless action as we work to redesign and realign our education system to see the outcomes we need for our students.”

By 2025, Governor Kitzhaber has called for a 100% high school completion rate. In order to help achieve this goal, the Governor has identified four areas of strategic investment. These areas are:
• Oregon Early Reading Initiative – targeted, evidence-based interventions that improve Kindergarten readiness and 3rd grade reading proficiency
• Developing a Representative Corps of Professional Educators  – launching regional centers that create a statewide professional development network to ensure we have outstanding teachers and administrators in every school
• Connecting Students to the World of Work – increased focus on Science, Technology Engineering, and Math (STEM) and increased collaboration between high schools and community colleges and/or 4-year institutions
• Guidance and Support for Post-Secondary Aspirations – increased supports and interventions to ensure students are on track for graduation, earn a diploma, and have access to post-secondary and career opportunities

The on-time graduation rate in Portland Public Schools increased by 1 percentage point in 2012, the third year in a row that the rate has gone up, according to new data released today by the Oregon Department of Education. In addition, the PPS drop-out rate declined by one point to 3 percent.
 
Among the 3,400 students who started school in 2008-09, a total of 63 percent graduated in four years Of the students who started in a PPS neighborhood comprehensive or focus high school, 78 percent earned a regular diploma in four years.