Graduation Rate Improving In Portland

From Portland Public Schools: Portland Public Schools’ graduation rate has increased for the eighth year in a row according to data released today by the Oregon Department of Education. The overall four-year graduation rate is 77.9 percent, up 2.5 percentage points over the previous year.

Here are some highlights:

PPS was higher than the Oregon statewide graduation rate for the second year in a row – 77.9 percent compared with 76.7 percent.

Largest increases over last year’s graduation rates were at Madison High School (7 percentage points) and Roosevelt High School (8 percentage points).

The special education student graduation rate continues to grow. Sixty-four percent of special education students graduated, up seven percentage points fromthe previous year and up more than 14 points over two years.

Graduation rates for English learners jumped more than 10 percentage points from 51 percent to 63 percent, which is more than 8 percentage points higher than the statewide rate for English learners.

Graduation rates improved for all racial/ethnic subgroups, except Black/African American students, which fell by 3 percentage points. Graduation rates were up 11 percentage points for Pacific Islanders and 7 percentage points for both Native American and Hispanic/Latino students.

Although graduation rates among racial/ethnic subgroup continue to show improvement, gaps remain between historically underserved student populations and White and Asian students.

“These results are encouraging. These outcomes demonstrate the hard work and persistence by our students, the dedication of our educators, and the important support our families and communities provide throughout the district,” said Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero. “Clearly, we have more work to do to accelerate student outcomes and narrow achievement gaps."

The results are one key indicator of progress toward the District’s goal to prepare all students for life, college and career, and to contribute to their communities.

For a look at the graduation rates for all Portland Public Schools and for high schools statewide, use this link to the data posted by the Oregon Department of Education.

Image via Shutterstock