New data released from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that Oregon lags behind in K-12 education, even as the United States has more adults with college degrees@@univ. of phoenix?@@ than ever before.
At just more than 30 percent degree attainment, the nation set a new record this year for the number of adults age 25 and up who hold at least a bachelor’s degree.@@http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/cb12-33.html@@ Degree attainment in Oregon is a percentage point lower and only 11 percentage points away from a state educational goal set for 2025.
The goals that the Oregon legislature passed into law last year include: “to ensure that at least 40 percent of Oregonians have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, ensure that at least 40 percent of Oregonians have earned an associate’s degree or post-secondary credential, and ensure that the remaining 20 percent or less of all Oregonians have earned a high school diploma.”@@http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGkkJ8MkxPrl0AO8NXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyMGpwYzFxBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA0RGUjVfNzU-/SIG=12ofikk2i/EXP=1330422524/**http%3a//www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measpdf/sb0200.dir/sb0253.intro.pdf@@
Oregon University System officials say the state is on track to meet its goals, but also improving diversity and adding more students can improve the state’s workforce tremendously.
“We need to do a better job of getting a more diverse range of students into college,” OUS spokesperson Di Saunders said.@@http://www.ous.edu/news_and_information/bios/saunders.php@@
Despite the highest enrollment numbers the OUS has ever seen, fewer Oregon high school students are graduating on time, and more are not even graduating at all. Only 67.2 percent of the class of 2011 graduated on time, with this same class losing more than 11,000 students. Community college degree attainment rates are even worse with only 19 percent of Oregonians holding a two-year degree or certificate.
Saunders said that “maintaining affordability” is a big factor in improving educational attainment as well as increasing the retention rate across the entire system.
“Finding ways to help students finish in four years is a big goal for us,” she said. “We also need to add more students to the system.”
Ben Cannon, education policy advisor for Gov. John Kitzhaber,@@http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/media_room/press_releases/p2011/press_081611a.shtml@@ said that significant increases need to be made in coming years, especially at the high school and community college level.
“The state is encouraging school districts to set meaningful targets,” Cannon said. “We are developing a system of support to help district administrators reach better outcomes in diploma attainment.”
He said that better early-childhood programs and regular placement testing throughout elementary and secondary education can help improve high-school graduation rates, which in turn would improve rates for higher education degree attainment.
“It’s hard to retain students especially when we see cuts to student services,” Saunders said. “We are meeting the standard, but we can do much better.”