Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Oregon report: Only 2 of 3 teens graduate from high school on time | OregonLive.com

Oregon report: Only 2 of 3 teens graduate from high school on time

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

May 25, 2010, 10:01AM

The OregonianAmanda Bakker straightens Twyla Baggarley's cap during graduation rehearsal in 2008 at Liberty High School. Seventy-four percent of Liberty High School students graduated in 2009 after four years of high school.Only 66 percent of students in Oregon's high school class of 2009 graduated from high school on time, and more than 14,000 of them dropped out along the way, the state reported this morning.

Portland, the largest district in Oregon, had one of the worst graduation rates, with just 53 percent of its students graduating on time. Nearly 100 students apiece dropped out from the class of 2009 at Wilson, Cleveland, Franklin, Marshall and Roosevelt high schools and hundreds more quit from alternative schools all around the city.

» Test scores from every public school in Oregon in The Oregonian's schools guide.

Low graduation rates are one of the main problems that Superintendent Carole Smith cites for wanting to remake the district's high schools into larger, more equitable ones.

Among the more successful districts: Hillsboro, Tigard-Tualatin and tiny