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On a not unrelated note, Kate Brown has been under fire for Oregon's awful HS graduation rates. While all of the changes are being made as "a response to the p

On a not unrelated note, Kate Brown has been under fire for Oregon's awful HS graduation rates. While all of the changes are being made as "a response to the pandemic and a reassessment of our current graduation requirements"...it all stinks of gaming the numbers so that it looks like graduation rates are better than they should be. https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/01/oregon-graduation-rate-climbs-to-83-a-new-high-but-schools-may-have-lowered-the-bar-for-a-diploma.html https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/01/oregon-graduati...

tadfisher 5y ago
None of this is new, though. Two decades ago my high school had an _enrollment_ rate of 60%. Even with education mandates and legal consequences, Oregon has a problem with poverty and equitability that disincentivizes school attendance. We still lead the nation in malnutrition, for instance. So I don't see this as Kate Brown cooking the books, but more of an opportunity for a realistic assessment of what our goals should be for education and how to expand access and participation.
- j_walter 5y ago
  I went to HS in rural Oregon where the "you need to go to college to succeed" didn't work for most of the students. Trade options like metal shop, wood shop and construction slowly got less funding or were dropped all together. Those things kept a lot of HS kids interested enough to stay long enough to graduate, let alone have a future career. Don't worry, Oregon tried a new test and sent every HS student at Lincoln High School a $1400 debit card a few months ago "accidentally". I'm sure that will help reduce poverty and nutrition. Don't worry...it just came at the expense of federal tax payers. https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/11/oregon-accidentally-sent-15-million-in-federal-food-assistance-to-students-at-portlands-lincoln-high.html https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/11/oregon-accident...

tadfisher 5y ago

None of this is new, though. Two decades ago my high school had an _enrollment_ rate of 60%. Even with education mandates and legal consequences, Oregon has a problem with poverty and equitability that disincentivizes school attendance. We still lead the nation in malnutrition, for instance. So I don't see this as Kate Brown cooking the books, but more of an opportunity for a realistic assessment of what our goals should be for education and how to expand access and participation.

j_walter 5y ago
I went to HS in rural Oregon where the "you need to go to college to succeed" didn't work for most of the students. Trade options like metal shop, wood shop and construction slowly got less funding or were dropped all together. Those things kept a lot of HS kids interested enough to stay long enough to graduate, let alone have a future career. Don't worry, Oregon tried a new test and sent every HS student at Lincoln High School a $1400 debit card a few months ago "accidentally". I'm sure that will help reduce poverty and nutrition. Don't worry...it just came at the expense of federal tax payers. https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/11/oregon-accidentally-sent-15-million-in-federal-food-assistance-to-students-at-portlands-lincoln-high.html https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2021/11/oregon-accident...