PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An audit released by the Oregon Secretary of State's Office on Wednesday found "mixed" results from Oregon's High School Success program meant to improve Oregon's graduation rates and prepare students for college.
HSS was approved by Oregon voters in 2016 under Ballot Measure 98, which created grants to establish or grow three types of high school programs. This includes Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, opportunities to earn college credit in schools, and dropout prevention strategies, all aiming to boost Oregon’s low graduation rates.
This latest audit of the program found HSS has expanded CTE and college-level programs but also flagged "mixed" results in other areas.
The audit looked at four outcomes: graduation rates, dropout rates, ninth grade on-track rates, and regular attendance.
Of these metrics, graduation rates saw the most improvement, growing from a 76% graduation rate in 2016-17 to 81% in 2022-23, according to the audit.
While Oregon’s graduation rates "marginally" improved, Oregon has some of the lowest graduation rates in the nation -- ranking 44th in the U.S. for graduation rates, the audit said.
The audit noted that the Oregon Department of Education changed graduation requirements and dropout policies during the pandemic. For example, in the spring of 2020, ODE allowed districts to credit seniors who were passing classes at the time of school closures in 2020, which officials said likely spiked graduation rates in 2020.
“Oregon’s overall graduation rates remain low compared to the rest of the country. In the latest national comparison, based on 2021-22 graduation rates, Oregon ranked 44th lowest overall, similar to the low ranking that helped spur the 2016 ballot measure,” the audit said.
Additionally, the audit found that regular high school attendance has fallen from 80% in 2016-17 to 61% in 2022-2023.
Meanwhile, dropout rates were less reliable to track because of policy changes during the pandemic, the audit explained.
Moving forward, auditors provided eight recommendations for ODE, including improving its data collection to better evaluate how HSS programs are working, noting, "For example, grantees reported their progress on more than 1,200 goals, often without data to support the reported outcomes, and reported no results for nearly 10% of the stated goals. As a result, data-driven analysis and monitoring of program outcomes is limited."
Auditors also recommended that ODE develop a way to evaluate if systems implemented in high schools to meet HSS eligibility requirements are improving students' progress toward graduation.
“This audit shows Measure 98 has had some positive impact, but it also shows how difficult it can be to quantify and measure impact,” said Audits Director Kip Memmott. “To specifically target these funds and determine what’s working and what’s not, you need more granular reporting. If ODE and the Legislature want to more accurately measure the effect of the High School Succes program, they need better data.”
Auditors said the ODE has improved its administration and monitoring of the HSS program and highlighted two “large-scale” efforts that are in early stages at ODE that could help the program. These include streamlining HSS compliance requirements for school districts and finding “effective investments” for student success.
Auditors pointed out that specific outcomes of HSS grants are hard to determine because the program only makes up 5% of total school funding and other programs in the state have similar goals.
Officials said within the first six years of HSS, over 230 grantees -- which includes public schools, charter schools, and specialty schools -- have spent around $760 million in grant funds.
The Oregon Department of Education agreed to the audit's recommendations, noting some of the suggestions are underway.
In a Dec. 6 letter to Audits Division Director Kip Memmott, ODE Director Dr. Charlene Williams said, “The recommendations offered will support our continuous improvement efforts both through High School Success as well as our efforts across the agency to increase collaboration, reduce duplication of effort, and streamline efforts to support students on their path to graduation and beyond.”
