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Gov. Tina Kotek has introduced two bills that seek to direct state education spending to improve Oregon’s dismal testing results.
The disjunct between spending and results has has emerged as a hot topic in Salem this legislative season. In two bills that will see hearings this week, House Bill 2009 and Senate Bill 141, the governor seeks to tie spending increases to to getting better outcomes.
For Kotek, that means building on metrics used to measure student success (K-2 absenteeism and eighth grade math), adding interim assessments to schools, and easing grant processes. She’ll also work to ensure the Oregon Department of Education is held accountable to providing more support to districts and improving its data transparency.
“I don’t believe in writing a blank check, and I don’t believe in accepting the status quo when it comes to delivering for our students,” Kotek said at a Monday press conference. “Oregon students deserve more.”
The proposals come as state legislators have been presented with two vastly different paths forward on education spending this session. One presentation, from Dr. Marguerite Roza Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, mapped data that indicated increased education spending does not automatically result in better outcomes, and encouraged more intentional spending. The other, a state-commissioned report by the American Institutes of Research, advocated the state should commit much more money to see improved student outcomes.
Those dueling recommendations come amid declining student outcomes statewide: Oregon is the worst in the nation in fourth grade reading and mathematics when adjusted for demographics, according to the Urban Research Institute. On the statewide exam in 2023-24, 42.5% of students demonstrated proficiency in English and language arts, and 31% in math.
Kotek’s proposal to aid struggling students is to intervene hands-on in districts performing below metrics, whether that be through instructional coaching or increased spending.
When WW asked Kotek for clarification on how the governor will determine which districts struggle, given the majority districts in Oregon report less than half of their students as proficient in reading or mathematics, Kotek said the State Board of Education would tackle that question after the bill’s passage.
“I want to make sure that a low performing district could at least get to as good as the highest performing district in the state,” Kotek says. “We’re not just going to pick a number out of the air. We want to make sure we can get one school district in the state can do it.”
Also notable in Kotek’s proposals is a suggestion to revise, pause or remove Division 22 standards. Those standards recently made waves in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District, where two parents raised concerns about why state officials primarily use the honor system to track whether districts are in compliance with curriculum.
The two bills have thus far garnered a number of supporters, including the Oregon Education Association, the statewide teacher’s union. “The package before the committee today—and by this we mean not just HB 2009, but also the administrative reforms that are part of the accountability conversation as well – will help move Oregon toward our shared desire to ensure every Oregon student has access to a world class education and the tools they need to succeed,” the organization wrote in its testimony.
But there are still education advocates pushing for the government to sink its teeth in more. Dr. Christine Pitts, an Oregon education advocate who criticized ODE after the department released a broad accountability framework in December, was among those encouraging the state to go further.
In testimony supporting the bill, Pitts wrote the state needs to mandate evidence-based interventions, educate district leaders, and implement high quality curriculum and research aligned teacher professional development. (A number of education experts WW has spoken to over the last three months have agreed teacher quality is the most important factor in ensuring student success.)
“The success of HB 2009 depends on connecting school improvement efforts to instructional quality and leadership capacity. Other states have demonstrated that accountability, paired with strong policies and research-backed interventions, drives real improvement,” Pitts wrote. “Oregon must not only identify struggling schools but ensure they adopt evidence-based strategies to improve their student outcomes.”