State ratings of schools paused for one year
6:54 p.m. PDT October 15, 2015
Parents and community members wanting to learn how their local schools performed academically this past year won’t find it in the latest school report cards issued by the state Department of Education.
This year’s report cards don’t include ratings, as the ratings portion of the report card was dropped due new statewide assessments, making it nearly impossible to compare schools or know whether a specific school is improving or not.
The U.S. Department of Education granted Oregon a one-year waiver on report card ratings in light of the transition to new standards and new statewide assessments in English and Math. The new baseline for the state as a result of the assessment, however, it is included in the report cards, but no overall ratings or comparison school ratings were issued.
Report card ratings will resume on the October 2016 report cards.
“Oregon’s school and district report cards contain a wealth of information for parents and communities about their local schools,” Deputy Superintendent Salam Noor said.
“Student learning is about so much more than a single test score, and these report cards help to paint a more complete picture about the work our schools are doing to support student success. I hope these reports will spark conversations across the state about our schools’ successes, opportunities for growth, and the ways in which we can all support improved educational outcomes for our kids.”
Oregon’s school and district report cards have been released annually since 2000 and were redesigned a few years ago as part of Oregon’s federal flexibility waiver to make them more user-friendly, visual, and better at telling the state’s educational story, as stated in the press release.
To access the school and district report cards online, visit www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx.
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Natalie Pate 