Newberg’s Graduation Data

There are not many ways to measure or compare different school districts in Oregon. One is test scores, but with unreliable tests and more and more families choosing to opt out, test scores are not fool proof. Another measure is graduation rate, where each district has the same requirements for credits and core classes and requirements each year.

On Thursday, the state of Oregon released graduation data for all schools in the state for last year’s class of 2022 (you can see them all here). For years I created the graduation rate report that was given to the Newberg School Board. In a year where the state of Oregon as a whole increased its graduation rate 0.7%, Newberg School District saw a drastic decline of 3.81% to 82.68%, Newberg’s lowest rate in six years. It does not bring me joy to draw attention to this; as a former district employee and parent of three Newberg High graduates, I am deeply sad for how our school system has not served our students.

We need to look at hard data and realize the actions of the current school board have caused significant, measurable damage to the students in our community. The class of 2021 served under a different Board and under Superintendent Joe Morelock. The class of 2022 experienced a full year under this current Board, and current Superintendent Stephen Phillips was hired on May 10, 2022. He was in his position for the crucial last two months of the year when staff works hard to get seniors across the line, completing the last requirements needed to graduate.

The pandemic and the removal of some graduation requirements also plays a factor, so it is important to make apples-to-apples comparisons. If we compare Newberg’s class of 2021 with the state of Oregon average for 2021, and compare Newberg’s class of 2022 with Oregon’s average in 2022, all differences in requirements are accounted for.

While the current Board campaigned on the message that Newberg Schools were suffering academically, the data shows something different. For the class of 2021 under the previous Board and Superintendent Morelock, Newberg’s graduation rate was 86.49%—that was 5.86% higher than the state of Oregon average of 80.63%. For the class of 2022 under the current Board and Superintendent Phillips, Newberg’s graduation rate was 82.68%—that was only 1.34% higher than the state of Oregon average of 81.34%.

Digging deeper into the data brings even more concerns to light. First, the data for 2021 under the previous Board:

• Hispanic/Latino students: 89.89% (12.85% higher than the state average of 77.04%)
• English Language Learners (ELL): 93.55% (9.3% higher than the state average of 84.25%)
• Students with disabilities: 68.63% (2.55% higher than the state average of 66.08%)

Next, the data for 2022 under the current Board:

• Hispanic/Latino students: 76.81% (1.9% lower than the state average of 78.71%)
• English Language Learners (ELL): 82.76% (3.61% lower than the state average of 86.37%)
• Students with disabilities: 68.33% (0.83% higher than the state average of 67.5%)

Specific interventions and protocols were developed in 2016-17 to identify students not on track to graduate, and to assist more students to graduate. Some of these focused specifically on ELL students and Hispanic/Latino students, and the numbers show they were making a measurable difference. I do not fault current staff members, who I know work hard and care deeply about helping all students graduate. But the disruptions caused by the Board last year caused key staff to exit, leaving holes in these new protocols and pulling attention away from academics. Meticulous attention in the last months of the senior year are key in improving graduation rates.

Perhaps there are concerns that the specialized focus on ELL and Hispanic/Latino students came at a cost to other students. The data makes it clear this isn’t true. White students under the previous Board in 2021 had a graduation rate of 85.55%, 3.47% higher than the state average. Under the current Board in 2022, white students had a graduation rate of 84.10%, only 1.64% higher than the state average. Individualized, specialized, and diverse education helps everyone—a rising tide raises all boats. 

The data clearly shows that despite the campaign messaging and current rhetoric from the Board, Newberg Schools were not failing under previous leadership. Rather than increasing academic performance under the new Board, the data shows all students, and especially marginalized students, are doing worse.