Students who take career, tech ed (CTE) classes have 95% rate

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The statewide graduation rate for the class of 2023 is 81.3 percent, tying the previous class as the second-highest graduation rate ever recorded in Oregon, according to data released Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

While the overall rate held steady, some student groups reached all-time highs for graduation, including former English Learners (87.6%) and Migrant students (81.6%). 

“These 37,700 graduates overcame historic challenges to earn their diploma. During their journey to graduation the class of 2023 endured the full, multi-year impact of COVID and its aftermath,” said Dr. Charlene Williams, Oregon Department of Education director.

“Each diploma represents an inspiring step forward for a student, their loved ones, and their community. With impressive grit and resourcefulness they worked their way through the jarring and isolating impacts of the pandemic to earn their education. We need to maintain high expectations and provide high levels of support that will lead to academic excellence for all of our students.

“Each and every child from birth through 5th grade must be set up for success in learning to read and reading to learn and be provided opportunities to find their path to graduation success and their dream career,” Williams added.

Governor Tina Kotek said, “I am never satisfied when it comes to our kids. We will continue working hard to improve results in the coming school years.

“Still, it’s important that we are seeing some positive results in key areas where the state has been targeting resources, such as career and technical education and supporting English Language Learners. This targeted approach to success is working for our students, so let’s do more of that, and I hope lawmakers support summer learning investment in the 2024 session,” Kotek said.

Other key findings include:

• Students completing two credits in an approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program of Study significantly exceeded the statewide average, graduating at a rate of 95.0 percent.
• Former English Learners – students who have successfully completed English Learner programs prior to entering high school in Oregon – graduated at 87.6 percent, 6 percentage points higher than the statewide average and an all-time high for that student group.
• Special Education students also saw the highest graduation rate for that student group at 68.6 percent.
• The graduation rate for students experiencing houselessness increased 2 percentage points to 60.6 percent which is also a record high for that student group.
• For the first time, graduation rates are reported for military connected students (86.7%), students with experience in incarceration or detention (35.8%) and students recently arrived (63.3%).

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News release from Bend-La Pine Schools

Graduation Rate Rises Sharply for La Pine High School

2023 graduation rate for Bend-La Pine Schools is 83.6 percent

La Pine High School’s graduation rate improved nearly 11 percentage points last year, with an especially high rate among students taking Career Technical Education classes.

The school’s 2023 graduation rate was 70 percent, an increase of 10.9 percentage points from 2022, according to data released Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education.

Nearly all La Pine students receiving multiple credits in a CTE program area graduated in 2023 – gains of roughly 20 percentage points over the prior year.

“I’m very happy and proud of our staff that we have double-digit gains,” La Pine High Principal Scott Olszewski said. “We have great teachers in La Pine, and we offer a lot for a small high school, from our Career Technical Education offerings to fantastic music and theater programs and world language.”

Olszewski credited the relevancy and high engagement that CTE programs offer for helping boost the school’s graduation rate in 2023. Program areas include natural resource science, manufacturing technology and metals, criminal justice and law, and business management.

This year the school added an Education Foundations class, in alignment with Central Oregon Community College, for students to explore the field of education and lesson planning. This spring students will apply their knowledge to a 60-hour practicum, partnering with educators at Rosland and La Pine elementary schools and La Pine Middle School.

Continuity in staffing, including administrators, counselors, and the school-to-career coordinator, is another factor in student success, Olszewski said. The small 2023 class of 82 graduates also benefited from strong relationships with teachers and support staff who are invested in the La Pine community, he added.

“With our classified staff, most if not all live in La Pine, from custodial and nutrition services to our library and front office staff. I think that’s huge,” he said.

Bend-La Pine Schools graduated 1,260 students last year for an overall graduation rate of 83.6 percent – a slight increase from 2022 and the second-highest completion rate in the past 12 years. The statewide graduation rate was 81.3 percent for 2023.

About the Numbers: The graduation rate tracks students beginning in ninth grade and measures how many of those students graduate within four years. The rate is adjusted for students moving in or out of the district.

Bend-La Pine Schools’ 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate Over Time:

·         2022-23: 83.6 percent

·         2021-22: 83.5 percent

·         2020-21: 82.4 percent

·         2019-20: 85.9 percent

·         2018-19: 80.6 percent

·         2017-18: 81.9 percent

·         2016-17: 78.7 percent

·         2015-16: 77.5 percent

·         2014-15: 77.2 percent

·         2013-14: 77.2 percent

·         2012-13: 78.6 percent

·         2011-12: 72.2 percent

School-Specific 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate for 2022-23:

·         Bend Senior High: 86.9 percent

·         Bend Tech Academy (formerly BTA at Marshall High School): 69.2 percent

·         La Pine High: 70 percent

·         Mountain View High: 86.3 percent

·         Realms High: 92.3 percent

·         Summit High: 95.2 percent

Caldera High School’s first senior class will graduate this June.