Oregon is studying graduation requirements
By Terry Murry on Friday, March 25th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The state of Oregon dropped requiring assessment tests in math, reading and writing for high school graduation during the pandemic, while it kept its other requirements in place. The state then saw an improvement in its four-year high school graduation rates.
InterMountain Education Service Director Mark Mulvihill said that Oregon high school students still must earn 24 credits and show classroom proficiency. He added that comparing Oregon’s high school graduation rate to other states has never made sense, because the graduation requirements vary widely from state to state.
“Over the years, Oregon cranked up its requirements for one of the, if not the, toughest diplomas to get in the nation,” he said. “Other states started dropping their standards. Then we got criticized as public school educators that we have some of the lowest grad rates in the nation.”
Mulvihill said that Oregon Department of Education is now taking a look at what it wants the graduation requirements to be – demanding or more like the other states.
“Do we really care about comparing Oregon to Massachusetts, Vermont, and Mississippi,” he questioned. “If we do then we need to have a diploma that looks more like their diplomas and then we can get serious to see if we’re over-performing or under-performing.”
Mulvihill said he will be a part of the statewide discussion regarding graduation requirements.
