A comprehensive U.S. report showed that Oregon not only has the worst graduation rates in the nation, but it's holding the country back from achieving its graduation rate goals.
The 2015 Building a Grad Nation report analyzed 2013 graduation rate data from every state in the nation. While the national average reached a record high of 81.4 percent, the four-year graduation rate in Oregon was only 69 percent.
Furthermore, Oregon hadn't improved from the year before, showing stagnation as the last remaining state with graduation rates lower than 70 percent.
"Oregon did not experience significant improvements and became the state with the lowest graduation rate in the nation and the last remaining state with an ACGR [Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate] in the 60s," the report said.
The Grad Nation report shows that overall, much of the country is on track to graduate upwards of 90 percent of seniors by 2020, and many states are already graduating more than 80 percent of students, including neighboring California. Washington State had a 76.4 percent graduation rate.
Also noted was the sharp decline in schools with extremely low graduation rates (the report called them "dropout factories"). African American students also showed steady improvement, although minority graduation rates were still significantly lower than Caucasian students.
To reach the 90 percent goal, the report said 310,000 more students would have to earn a diploma in 2020 than in 2013. The nation needs to concentrate on its low-income students and students with disabilities, English language learners, and minorities.
"The analysis of third-quarter progress shows that this rate of growth is obtainable. The challenge then is to spread what has worked in the states and districts that have improved to those that have not."
Oregon's graduation rate rose to 72 percent in 2014, thanks mostly to counting those who received a modified diploma or went to community college before graduating. It still had the worst rates out of any state in the country.
