By Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle
Following steep declines in school attendance in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, Oregon students are slowly beginning to show up more regularly to class and a growing number of ninth graders are on track to graduate on time.
The number of Oregon kids regularly attending classes is not back to pre-pandemic levels yet, but new data from the Oregon Department of Education shows that during the 2023-24 school year, regular attendance increased by nearly 4 percentage points from the previous year. For elementary school students, regular attendance increased by almost 7 percentage points. About 76% of the 197 school districts in Oregon saw higher attendance last year from the previous year, according to the data.
Marginal gains have also been made in the rate of ninth graders who are on track to graduate within four years. Nearly 85% of last year’s ninth graders are on track to graduate by 2027, about 1 point above pre-pandemic rates and the second highest rate ever recorded in the state. That represents about 500 more freshmen this year who are on track to graduate.
Charlene Williams, director of the Oregon Department of Education, said the data is a good sign but that more improvements are needed. “We must continue our focus on maintaining high expectations, providing opportunities for our students to succeed, and supporting our schools and educators,” Williams said in a statement.
More than 550,000 students attend kindergarten through 12th grade in Oregon. Overall, about 66% of Oregon students had at least a 90% attendance rate during the 2023-24 school year while an average of about one-third missed at least 16 days out of 160 or more days. During the 2018-19 pre-pandemic school year, about 80% of students attended class at least 90% of the year. Students who attend at least 90% of the time are considered to have regular attendance.
The data was released as part of the Oregon Department of Education’s At-A-Glance Profiles of districts, which combine state assessment test scores with other district and school health measures, such as the number of experienced teachers, school mental health staff and librarians in buildings.
The latest results from statewide assessment tests in English language arts, math and science show that across subjects, grades and districts, students are still about 10 percentage points behind pre-pandemic achievement levels. In the state’s 10 largest districts – responsible for educating about 40% of Oregon’s K-12 student body – students have slipped further behind in English language arts and science, partly because of missed classes.
Absenteeism rates in Oregon are highest in kindergarten, early elementary grades and among high school seniors, according to the state data and school districts. Education experts say absences in the younger grades can have the most impact, and research shows students who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by third grade, making them four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers.
The gains in attendance last year follow a concerted effort by schools and the state to get students back into classrooms full time. Some districts have conducted public information campaigns over the last year, rewarding students for getting to class with gift cards and meals, collecting better data on absenteeism and deploying school staff to visit students and their families at home to make the point that school attendance should be taken seriously, according to state education officials.
During the 2023 legislative session, an 18-member task force was created to submit ideas for boosting student attendance that would not require legal enforcement, and Gov. Tina Kotek declared that September was “Attendance Awareness Month.”
This story first appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
