That’s Bad for Business & for All of Us
Election races for Oregon governor and the legislature are heating up, and a lot of claims are going to be made about education. At a minimum, there should be agreement on some basic facts about our state’s educational performance. We already know about low graduation rates. But how does student achievement in Oregon compare to the nation as a whole, and to other states? If we take a long-term view, the answer is that we’re falling behind.
I analyzed student achievement trends in Oregon from 2003 to 2017 and compared these trends to the nation as a whole and the 50 states. Data came from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), known as “the Nation’s Report Card.” NAEP is administered every two years by the U.S. Department of Education, and is the best way to compare states.
Over the past 15 years, Oregon’s scores on NAEP have been stagnant or declining. At the same time, scores have improved for the nation as a whole, and many states have improved their positions relative to Oregon. The situation is rather dire at the fourth grade level. Some results:
Grade 4 math: Oregon scores declined while average national scores improved. The state went from being above the national average to below the national average. In 2003, only eight states had scores higher than those of Oregon. In 2017, a whopping 36 states had scores higher than Oregon. Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Illinois were all behind us in 2003; now they’re ahead.
Grade 4 reading: Oregon scores were stagnant while the national average improved. The state fell from being at the national average to below average. In 2003, 20 states had higher scores than Oregon, in 2017 there were 30. Among those are our neighbors Washington and Idaho.
The situation is not as bad at the eighth grade level, as in both math and reading we were at the national average in 2017. But back in 2003 we were above the national average, so our relative position still fell. Oregon scores in eighth grade math and reading have been stagnant, while again, the national average went up.
So, a picture emerges of stagnation. While much of the rest of the country has been making slow progress, Oregon is stuck. Therefore, our relative position, when compared to the nation and to other states, is declining.
Economists, particularly Eric Hanushek at Stanford University, have long established the relationship between a quality education system and economic growth. The costs of our underperformance are immense, and if present trends continue, will get higher. To be sure, Oregon is lucky to be able to benefit from the presence of highly educated people from other states who move here for the quality of life. To some extent we’re getting an educational “free ride.” But that doesn’t diminish our responsibility to ensure that kids growing up here become full and productive members of the labor force, and society.
Business leaders should also question our candidates for governor and legislature as to what their proposals are to address this chronic educational underperformance. Is there going to be a change, or more of the same?
The report on student achievement can be viewed in full (only eight pages) at www.truescoreconsulting.com.
To learn more go to cascadebusnews.com/Stuck-in-a-Rut
Victor Chudowsky, Ph.D. lives in Bend and is co-founder of TrueScore Consulting, a research and evaluation firm that serves governments, research organizations and foundations.
