What We Do
Challenge
Increase the number of students graduating from high school
Facts:
- 77% of the Class of 2015 graduated in 4 years, a rate that is above the state average but 7-18% lower than surrounding school districts
- Students with disabilities, English learners, economically disadvantaged or of color are less likely to graduate than white students
- Oregon’s graduation rate is among the lowest in the US
Focus
3rd grade reading
Why it’s important to improving graduation success:
The research is clear: if children cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade, they face daunting hurdles to success in school and beyond. Third grade marks a pivot point in reading. In fourth grade, students begin encountering a wider variety of texts. By then, able readers have learned to extract and analyze new information and expand their vocabularies by reading.
But struggling readers rarely catch up with their peers academically and are four times more likely to drop out of high school, lowering their earning power as adults and possibly costing society in welfare and other supports (Hernandez, 2011).
Reading at grade level at the end of third- grade is a critical milestone and is considered to be a predictor of whether or not that child will graduate from high school.
Students who do not read proficiently by 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers
Challenge
64% of NSD 3rd-5th grade students met state reading standards in 2015-16
There are achievement gaps for elementary students who are economically disadvantages, English learners and students with disabilities
56% economically disadvantaged met standards
33% English learners met reading standards
34% of students with disabilities met reading standards
46% Hispanic students met standards
54% of NSD students in grades 6-8 met state reading standards in 2015-16
Improve Attendance
Why attendance matters
One of the most important things parents can do help their child achieve academic success is also one of the most basic: going to school every day. Teachers can’t educate students who are not in school.
Students with regular attendance are more likely to do well in school and graduate on time.
Missing even 2 days of school in a month can create serious gaps in understanding math at any age.
Middle and high school students who miss too many days fail classes and are unlikely to graduate.
A student who is absent two days a month misses an equivalent of nearly one & a half years of their schooling.
Strengthen 9th grade Transitions
Why it’s important to improving graduation success:
84% of NHS freshmen are on track to graduate, but 8-14% fail to graduate
Class of 2015 – only 20% of the students earning 6 credits or less graduated
Class of 2015 – 300 students had an attendance rate of 90% as freshman and 83% earned a diploma
Highest groups of students at risk are students with disabilities, migrant, economically disadvantages, Hispanic and English learners
Strategy
Encourage participants and partners to align some or all of existing resources and effort towards achieving the common agenda and shared measures of success
Measurement
A common set of measures to monitor performance, track progress toward outcomes and learn what is and is not working in the NEF’s collective approach
NHS graduation rate (reported annually by Oregon Dept. of Education)
3rd grade reading scores (percentage of district 3rd grade students meeting/exceeding standards in reading)
School district attendance rate (reported annually by NSD, ODE)
Percent of freshman earning six or more credits their first year of high school (reported annually by Oregon Dept. of Education)