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K–12 student test scores across Oregon in English and language arts, mathematics and science are out. Once again, they’re not pretty.
In the years since COVID-19, results on what’s known as the Oregon Statewide Assessments have indicated a significant decrease in proficiency among students in Portland and statewide. Three years later, there aren’t many signs things are improving. Proficiency results have stayed about the same, with a couple of insignificant fluctuations in either direction.
If students score as proficient on the assessment, it means they’ve mastered grade level standards and—in 11th grade—are college-and-career-ready. The high percentage of students in each of Portland’s school districts who aren’t proficient in a number of subjects is, therefore, cause for alarm.
Statewide, English and language arts proficiency is at 42.5%, math is at 31% and science is at 29.3%. Last year those numbers were 43%, 30.6% and 29.4%, respectively.
Portland Public Schools outpaced statewide performance slightly, with 55.4% of students proficient in English and language arts, 46.4% in math, and 40.3% in science. Across grade levels, ELA proficiency hasn’t changed since last year, math performance has increased 0.2% and science has decreased 0.2%.
In prepared statements, the district tried to spin that incremental improvement in math as a victory. At a Thursday press conference, new Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong touted the results as a sign that the district isn’t moving backward, but soon admitted it wasn’t much to celebrate.
“I’m proud of the fact that our growth has remained steady. I’m not proud of the fact that we’re still in a crisis,” she said. “Anytime that we don’t have 100% of our students reading at grade level, it’s a concern—it’s a crisis, really.”
The district is also still struggling to overcome predictable achievement gaps, said Dr. Renard Adams, PPS’s chief accountability and equity officer. Adams cited minor improvements among Black and Latinx students in third grade reading and fifth grade mathematics proficiency, but noted “we’re not satisfied with our results.”
At two neighboring districts, results were even more disappointing. Students made minor improvements in ELA and mathematics at David Douglas School District (up 0.3% and 2.4%, respectively). Still, about 65% of students are not proficient in ELA, and more than 75% in the district are not proficient in math.
Parkrose School District, one of the most diverse in the state, saw the poorest performance among the three Portland school districts, with declining proficiency in ELA and mathematics, now at 30.5% and 16.6%, respectively. While science proficiency improved a bit, third grade math proficiency was particularly alarming: the district fell 15.8% in one year, to 16.1%.
WW was not immediately able to reach either district for comment.
At a Wednesday press event, the Oregon Department of Education outlined a few plans to improve proficiency rates, including increased investments in literacy, extended learning and accountability. Armstrong affirmed some of those goals. She wants to ensure students receive academic, social and emotional support as part of the district’s budget process.
For Nicci Kaufman, a Portland Federation of School Professionals member, the PPS messaging around solutions was difficult to listen to. Kaufman said PPS is putting too much money toward privatization and contracts and not investing enough in its teachers and staff.
“It’s difficult to hear them say that they want to have safe and supportive schools when we see it on a ground level that that’s just not happening,” Kaufman says. “It really is affecting our most marginalized students. …It’s frustrating to hear them try and put a positive spin on [these results].”
The flatlining performance is bad news for a state whose students fell further behind those in other states in both math and reading proficiency post-pandemic.
“This isn’t normal. This is not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination,” says Dr. Charlene Williams, ODE’s director.