Data from the Oregon Department of Education shows Hermiston High School exceeded the state average in both graduation and dropout rates.
According to the Oregon Department of Education, this graduation data looks at the students who entered high school as ninth graders in 2010-11 and then graduated with a regular high school diploma within four years. Data for 2013-14 shows the state holds a 71.98 percent four-year graduation rate for the 2010-11 cohort. Hermiston High School holds an 85.04 percent graduation rate. For the same cohort of students, Hermiston High School holds an 88.69 completer rate, which includes students who earned an extended or adult high school diploma, and students who earned a GED, in addition to the students who earned a standard diploma (graduates) as completers. The state of Oregon cohort completer rate was 76.40.
The results are further broken down by subgroups, which show the district boasts the seventh highest five-year cohort completer rate in the state for Hispanic students at 82.91 percent, among districts with sizable Hispanic populations. Hermiston High School holds the third highest four year cohort graduation and completer rates for Hispanic students.
The cohort graduation rate is calculated by taking the number of students in the group who graduated with a regular diploma within four years and dividing that by the total number of students who entered high school for that cohort, in this case 2010-11. The figure is adjusted for students who move into or out of the system, emigrate to another country, or are deceased, to form the adjusted cohort.
The cohort graduation rate figures reported by ODE this year include graduates earning a modified diploma. In previous years, this group of students was counted as high school completers, rather than graduates, despite satisfying the requirements to receive a diploma. Graduation rates of many other states already include modified diplomas; this change for Oregon gives a more accurate comparison across the country. These students are now also eligible for federal financial aid.
Because some students need more than four years to complete graduation requirements, the Oregon Department of Education also calculates five-year graduation and completion rates. HHS’s five year cohort graduation rate was 85.04, compared to the state’s 71.98. The Hermiston High School five year cohort completer rate was 88.69 for the 2009-10 cohort, while the state rate was 76.40. Subgroup data identifies Hermiston High School as the top ranked high school in Oregon for five-year cohort graduation and completer rates of Hispanic students, when compared to district of similar sized Hispanic populations.
Innovative Learning Center is home to the alternative program for HSD; it is designed for students who are not able to complete the requirements for graduation in four years with a standard instructional day. Graduation and completion rates for ILC are included in Hermiston School District aggregate data, which notes a five year cohort completer rate of 78.03, nearly two full points more than the state average.
