Local educators weigh in on suspension of essential skills graduation requirements
By Joe Hathaway on Wednesday, October 25th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
OREGON – High school students in Oregon will not need to fulfill an essential skills requirement in order to graduate for at least the next five years.
In a unanimous decision, the Oregon Board of Education announced a temporary pause on the essential skills requirement for high school graduation. This means that, for the next five years, high schoolers in Oregon won’t have to fulfill additional proficiency standards in reading, writing, and other skills beyond their regular coursework.
The controversial decision has been met with a lot of pushback. While some say it will lower state standards and cheapen an Oregon diploma, other education experts say the policy didn’t work and disproportionately harmed students of color.
This decision follows the board’s earlier move to suspend the requirements during the pandemic due to school closures. The feedback received from districts and the Oregon Department of Education highlighted that the requirement was burdensome to both teachers and students and was often misapplied.
Dan Farley, assistant superintendent of research, assessment, and data at the agency, expressed the belief that the essential skills requirement simply did not work. He stated, “If I had to distill this into one simple statement, it’s quite simply that they did not work.”
In a statement to Elkhorn Media Group, Marc Siegel of the Oregon Dept. of Education said:
“Oregon’s graduation requirements are rigorous, rivaling those of most states in the country, with the exception of Connecticut. Our students must demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, and math to earn a diploma.
Let’s be clear: we haven’t eliminated assessments for Oregon students. What’s changed is the insistence on a specific test score for graduation. Our students still need to meet essential skill requirements as indicated in their coursework, CTE pathway options and more.
Initially, this policy was intended to aid students in pursuing post-secondary opportunities, but research indicates that it hasn’t improved first-year college readiness. Therefore, it’s essential to continue the conversation and decision-making process as we look to policy leadership to approve and establish the new requirements.
The suspension provides an opportunity for the State Board and Oregon’s Legislature to collaborate with and engage more deeply with the community to design and implement policies that better serve our students.”
Local education leaders also share their thoughts on the suspension, with varying opinions.
Dianne Greif, Superintendent of the Elgin School District, provide Elkhorn Media Group with this statement:
“The suspension of Essential Skills was one in many ways that we (as a state, or even as a nation) began the process of taking away the meat, the “real stuff” in education.
As a result of those requirements being taken away, the adults making decisions gave kids and families an excuse not to even attempt. There has to be some accountability for student growth, or the State needs to stop measuring what we do and accomplish based on student growth. If Districts are to be held to a standard of instruction, the state can’t give parents and families an out. If we, school districts, are to be measured by student success, families need to be held accountable for attendance and student engagement
Lance Dixon, Superintendent of the North Powder School District, has a different take:
I have never agreed with the Essential Skills Assessment. If schools are teaching to the state standards and students are passing classes, then aren’t they meeting essential skills. Plus, a stand alone test, given at one point in time is never a true or equitable assessment of a child’s knowledge. Factors like test anxiety, individual disabilities, environmental influences from home, school, peers and a variety of other outside influences or events can have a definite impact on one’s ability to focus and perform on a stand alone assessment. Tests that measure student growth and content area weaknesses and strengths would be much more helpful data when trying to provide incentives, interventions and guide a student’s pathway for learning
Elkhorn Media Group also reached out to the Baker, Enterprise and La Grande school districts, but have not received comment, Elkhorn Media Group is also awaiting comment from local state representatives Mark Owens and Bobby Levy.
