Oregon
U.S.
Rank
- Opportunity
- Innovation
- Policy Environment
Score:
68%
Grade:
D
Rank:
#31
Oregon’s charter schools receive a blanket waiver from most regulations that apply to district schools. However, since school districts are the main authorizers in Oregon, charter schools are rarely permitted operational autonomy in practice.
Law passed: 1999
Most recently amended: 2019
Number of charter schools: 132
Number of charter students: 35,626
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No, except for virtual charter schools, which can have no more than 3% of a district’s student population.
Virtual charters allowed? Yes
AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards are primary authorizers. Applicants must also submit a copy of the charter school application to the state board of education which may approve them on appeal. Denied applicants can also apply to a state university for sponsorship, however universities tend to be partners with districts and not sponsors by themselves.
GROWTH: Although the state does not cap the amount of brick and mortar charter schools that can operate, virtual charter schools may not enroll over 3 percent of the students in a district. Additionally, Oregon has many policies that make it difficult for successful charter schools to expand. Those policies include requirements for new applications when a successful school wants to expand and the requirement that schools with multiple campuses have multiple boards of directors.
OPERATIONS: Oregon’s charter schools receive a blanket waiver from most regulations that apply to district schools. However, since school districts are the main authorizers in Oregon, charter schools are rarely granted the necessary operational autonomy in practice. The state’s 2020 education budget specifically excludes virtuals from qualifying for grants from a new $2 billion state education fund.
EQUITY: The law provides a per-pupil funding amount for charters that is 80 percent of the weighted average daily maintenance formula for students in grades K-8 and 95 percent of the formula for students in grades 9-12. This formula assumes that charters and district schools serve the same student populations. Because charters often serve more low-income students than their district counterparts, funding inequities result. Furthermore, authorizers can retain up to 20 percent of charter school funding for “administrative” fees. These fees deepen the funding disparities between charter and district schools. Charter schools receive no per-pupil facilities funding.
Score:
Grade:
F
Rank:
#48
There are no choice programs in this state.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#48
Lacking rigorous teacher preparation programs and the state “does not offer alternate routes to certification.”
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 58%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 62%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 55%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 55%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 63%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 61%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 71%
Teacher and Principal Evaluation
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%
Score:
68%
Grade:
D
Rank:
#31
Oregon’s charter schools receive a blanket waiver from most regulations that apply to district schools. However, since school districts are the main authorizers in Oregon, charter schools are rarely permitted operational autonomy in practice.
Law passed: 1999
Most recently amended: 2019
Number of charter schools: 132
Number of charter students: 35,626
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No, except for virtual charter schools, which can have no more than 3% of a district’s student population.
Virtual charters allowed? Yes
AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards are primary authorizers. Applicants must also submit a copy of the charter school application to the state board of education which may approve them on appeal. Denied applicants can also apply to a state university for sponsorship, however universities tend to be partners with districts and not sponsors by themselves.
GROWTH: Although the state does not cap the amount of brick and mortar charter schools that can operate, virtual charter schools may not enroll over 3 percent of the students in a district. Additionally, Oregon has many policies that make it difficult for successful charter schools to expand. Those policies include requirements for new applications when a successful school wants to expand and the requirement that schools with multiple campuses have multiple boards of directors.
OPERATIONS: Oregon’s charter schools receive a blanket waiver from most regulations that apply to district schools. However, since school districts are the main authorizers in Oregon, charter schools are rarely granted the necessary operational autonomy in practice. The state’s 2020 education budget specifically excludes virtuals from qualifying for grants from a new $2 billion state education fund.
EQUITY: The law provides a per-pupil funding amount for charters that is 80 percent of the weighted average daily maintenance formula for students in grades K-8 and 95 percent of the formula for students in grades 9-12. This formula assumes that charters and district schools serve the same student populations. Because charters often serve more low-income students than their district counterparts, funding inequities result. Furthermore, authorizers can retain up to 20 percent of charter school funding for “administrative” fees. These fees deepen the funding disparities between charter and district schools. Charter schools receive no per-pupil facilities funding.
Score:
Grade:
F
Rank:
#48
There are no choice programs in this state.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#48
Lacking rigorous teacher preparation programs and the state “does not offer alternate routes to certification.”
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 58%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 62%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 55%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 55%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 63%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 61%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 71%
Teacher and Principal Evaluation
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
The Oregon Center for Digital Learning is a non-profit that supports digital micro-credentials and edtech across the state. Their goal is to create infrastructure that supports a digital badge ecosystem in Oregon, and eventually in other states.
The Oregon Department of Education provides school districts some digital tools, programs such as virtual field trips, and instructional materials to support digital learning. To learn more about these resources, here.
Oregon’s Portland Public School District is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to approximately 50,000 students in the state. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.
Bandwidth: “93.7% of students in Oregon can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 34,064 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”
Oregon’s credit flexibility rule allows school districts to award credit based on alternatives to traditional seat time, where student progress is measured based on mastery of content and skill. The Credit Option Rule gives districts and charters the ability to offer students multiple pathways to receive credit both inside and outside of the classroom, with career-related learning, work studies, project based learning, and more.
Since adopting credit flexibility, proficiency-based teaching and learning has expanded far beyond awarding credit, into a much wider vision of rethinking education.
The state also has the Career Pathways program, which prepares students for their future by providing specialized industry related training programs to gain certificates and credits.
March 12, school buildings closed due to COVID-19, and did not reopen for the remainder of the school year. Oregon was not prepared for online learning, and initially told districts they did not need to transition to online learning. Officials did provide guidelines for districts that opted to do online learning, though, launching a website with resources and new tools.
The guidelines for reopening for the 2020-21 school year changed frequently. Over the summer, the governor announced schools would be allowed to reopen for in-person instruction, reversed that a few days later, and then modified that again a few days after that. In July, the state education department announced schools could not reopen until Covid rates were below 6% of those tested. It then revised that to allow for schools to reopen in rural areas and for students with disabilities or special needs, which was the final decision. Portland schools announced they will not resume in-person instruction until at least November. Teachers unions were heavily influential in the decision-making, pushing for no in-person instruction, among other things. Reopening guidelines for the 2020-21 school year are posted here and include detailed metrics regarding how and when schools can reopen.
Fast Facts
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
The Oregon Center for Digital Learning is a non-profit that supports digital micro-credentials and edtech across the state. Their goal is to create infrastructure that supports a digital badge ecosystem in Oregon, and eventually in other states.
The Oregon Department of Education provides school districts some digital tools, programs such as virtual field trips, and instructional materials to support digital learning. To learn more about these resources, here.
Oregon’s Portland Public School District is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to approximately 50,000 students in the state. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.
Bandwidth: “93.7% of students in Oregon can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 34,064 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”
Oregon’s credit flexibility rule allows school districts to award credit based on alternatives to traditional seat time, where student progress is measured based on mastery of content and skill. The Credit Option Rule gives districts and charters the ability to offer students multiple pathways to receive credit both inside and outside of the classroom, with career-related learning, work studies, project based learning, and more.
Since adopting credit flexibility, proficiency-based teaching and learning has expanded far beyond awarding credit, into a much wider vision of rethinking education.
The state also has the Career Pathways program, which prepares students for their future by providing specialized industry related training programs to gain certificates and credits.
March 12, school buildings closed due to COVID-19, and did not reopen for the remainder of the school year. Oregon was not prepared for online learning, and initially told districts they did not need to transition to online learning. Officials did provide guidelines for districts that opted to do online learning, though, launching a website with resources and new tools.
The guidelines for reopening for the 2020-21 school year changed frequently. Over the summer, the governor announced schools would be allowed to reopen for in-person instruction, reversed that a few days later, and then modified that again a few days after that. In July, the state education department announced schools could not reopen until Covid rates were below 6% of those tested. It then revised that to allow for schools to reopen in rural areas and for students with disabilities or special needs, which was the final decision. Portland schools announced they will not resume in-person instruction until at least November. Teachers unions were heavily influential in the decision-making, pushing for no in-person instruction, among other things. Reopening guidelines for the 2020-21 school year are posted here and include detailed metrics regarding how and when schools can reopen.
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Kate Brown (D)
First term began in 2015 (two-term limit)
Governor Kate Brown is not supportive of education change. During the COVID-19 crisis, she ordered all schools to be closed, including virtual schools. They were instructed to offer supplemental instruction only as traditional public school were. Was a particularly ridiculous decision given that the virtual schools were ready to teach full time at no risk to students or teachers.
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is not a good environment for education reform. Although they passed a bill in 2018 that allows for charter and homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular and interscholastic activities, the Senate also passed a bill in 2019 disconnecting the Oregon 529 savings program from the federal tax code, which would prevent parents from using their funds to pay for K-12 education costs. That did not pass the House, thankfully, but is concerning nonetheless. They also excluded virtual schoolss from their education budget, which surely was regretted once schools closed in the wake of COVID-19.
Advocates in Oregon must insist legislators stand up for all families and allow them the opportunities in education they need and deserve.
“The Oregon Blaine Amendment has been viewed as a parallel interpretation to the federal Establishment Clause by Oregon courts,” (Institute for Justice) which does not prohibit educational choice programs.
School and district report cards are easy to access on the main page of Oregon’s DOE website under Schools & Districts. School report cards are formatted in “at-a-glance” profiles, making information easy to read and understand. Data is relevant and complete, showing parents both academic indicators of the school as well as non-academic indicators such as school environment and teacher quality.
Educational options can be easily located from the homepage under the Learning Options tab, further increasing school accountability and transparency.
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.
Kate Brown (D)
First term began in 2015 (two-term limit)
Governor Kate Brown is not supportive of education change. During the COVID-19 crisis, she ordered all schools to be closed, including virtual schools. They were instructed to offer supplemental instruction only as traditional public school were. Was a particularly ridiculous decision given that the virtual schools were ready to teach full time at no risk to students or teachers.
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is not a good environment for education reform. Although they passed a bill in 2018 that allows for charter and homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular and interscholastic activities, the Senate also passed a bill in 2019 disconnecting the Oregon 529 savings program from the federal tax code, which would prevent parents from using their funds to pay for K-12 education costs. That did not pass the House, thankfully, but is concerning nonetheless. They also excluded virtual schoolss from their education budget, which surely was regretted once schools closed in the wake of COVID-19.
Advocates in Oregon must insist legislators stand up for all families and allow them the opportunities in education they need and deserve.
“The Oregon Blaine Amendment has been viewed as a parallel interpretation to the federal Establishment Clause by Oregon courts,” (Institute for Justice) which does not prohibit educational choice programs.
School and district report cards are easy to access on the main page of Oregon’s DOE website under Schools & Districts. School report cards are formatted in “at-a-glance” profiles, making information easy to read and understand. Data is relevant and complete, showing parents both academic indicators of the school as well as non-academic indicators such as school environment and teacher quality.
Educational options can be easily located from the homepage under the Learning Options tab, further increasing school accountability and transparency.
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.