Elizabeth Miller

More than a decade ago, Oregon leaders established a goal that starting with the Class of 2025, 100% of students would complete high school successfully. Students in that class just started 11th grade.

Graduation rates are a critical metric for measuring high school success, but one number doesn't always tell the whole story.

John Kitzhaber, the governor who first announced that goal at his inaugural speech in January 2011, resigned from office in February 2015. Oregon’s new governor, Tina Kotek, announced a different graduation rate goal when she was running for office: to improve Oregon’s graduation rate to “90% for all student groups by 2027.” That’s 10% lower, two years later.

Since 2012, OPB has been on a journey — following the education of a group of students that all started at the same southeast Portland elementary school. They are the Class of 2025.

Some special education programs are not required to report the same information to the state as other educational institutions, leading to a lack of accountability for systems serving Oregon's most vulnerable students.

Charlene Williams began as the interim director of the Oregon Department of Education in July. She’s the first new director of the department in five years, following the retirement of Colt Gill.

School districts across the state have struggled to hire and retain superintendents in the last five years. The job has become a contentious one, as school leaders deal with the continuing impacts of the pandemic and face tensions from the school board.

The board of the Nyssa School District in Eastern Oregon parted ways with its superintendent Monday night. They have not given a reason for the decision.

Next week, the Beaverton City Council is set to vote on a contract between the city and the school district to have police in school.

A new report out from Portland-based testing company NWEA shows student progress is slower than it was before the pandemic.