Oregon鈥檚 next governor will also serve as Oregon鈥檚 superintendent of schools. She will be able to appoint a deputy superintendent who will oversee the state鈥檚 Department of Education.
Oregon spends more of its general fund on education than anything else, though educators and the state鈥檚 say Oregon public schools continue to be underfunded.
Oregon鈥檚 three candidates for governor differ in their ideas for the future of education, and their endorsements offer a sense of that.
Tina Kotek, the Democrat endorsed by the and , is most aligned with school teachers and supporting public schools. Republican Christine Drazan is by the Oregon Moms Union, a conservative-leaning group formed during the pandemic, aimed at increasing parental involvement in education. Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson has not received any high-profile endorsements from education-related organizations. But Johnson has talked about how schools are 鈥渇ailing鈥� and said she will make sure schools retain local control and include the voices of parents and teachers.
shows Oregon student proficiency in English and math are down statewide, and show Oregon achievement falling further during the pandemic than in many other states.
Leading candidates Drazan and Kotek both took to Twitter to react to the recent news of Oregon鈥檚 low student achievement. Drazan that Kotek and current governor, Kate Brown 鈥渢hrew Oregon students under the bus鈥� and put 鈥減olitical interests鈥� ahead of kids, while promising to help students if elected.
鈥淚 will work every single day to help ensure that students who have fallen behind are given the focused interventions they require to catch up and move forward,鈥� Drazan shared in an Oct. 24 .
Kotek responded to Drazan鈥檚 tweet by warning voters that her opponent would cut funding to public schools.
鈥淚 will hold our education system accountable for improving outcomes & delivering on the promises of the Student Success Act,鈥� Kotek .
Next governor could change graduation requirements
The last several years have seen many changes to the state鈥檚 education system: from a historic new tax on businesses to fund the Student Success Act, to pandemic challenges including a rapid shift to online learning and intense staffing shortages. At the same time, public schools have dealt with polarizing politics related to COVID-19 and racial justice, as well as statewide.
As the state鈥檚 students and schools continue recovering from the pandemic, Oregon鈥檚 next governor has several large tasks at hand: among them, overseeing changing graduation requirements. The debate over what it takes to earn an Oregon diploma comes as state officials approach a deadline for students to reach.
Senate Bill 744 set in motion the changes to graduation requirements. The 2021 law required the Oregon Department of Education to detailing the state鈥檚 current requirements, comparisons to other states, and comments from Oregonians all over the state. Now that the report has been released, the next steps are up to the Governor, the Oregon State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
The bill also that students prove they have mastered a set of 鈥渆ssential skills,鈥� a move that has drawn criticism from many, including two of the three candidates for governor. Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson and Republican Christine Drazan voted no on SB 744 while in the Oregon Senate and House, respectively. Tina Kotek, former Oregon house speaker, voted yes.
鈥淯nder Kate Brown and Tina Kotek, high school diplomas have turned into participation ribbons,鈥� Johnson said in response to a survey from OPB.
鈥淚 voted against this misguided, detrimental policy.鈥�
鈥淗ere鈥檚 what I won鈥檛 do: allow the Department of Education to continue to pursue permanent rules that lower the requirements for achieving a diploma,鈥� said Drazan in her response to OPB
鈥淟owering standards cheapens the value of an Oregon education and sets our students up for failure in the real world.鈥�
Kotek differed from Johnson and Drazan, arguing the essential skills requirement put too much emphasis on largely unpopular standardized tests, which most students often used to prove mastery of the skills.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to keep adding on more and more standardized testing beyond what is necessary to monitor student progress,鈥� Kotek wrote. 鈥淲e need to let teachers teach 鈥� and our students will benefit from more instructional time.鈥�
The three candidates aren鈥檛 the only ones with differing opinions about Oregon鈥檚 changing graduation requirements. In talking to educators, superintendents, and board members in Oregon, their thinking differs too.
What do people working in education think?
Across the board, Oregonians working in education say high expectations should be expected for both students and staff.
鈥淲atering down a diploma or lower[ing] expectations is not good for anyone,鈥� wrote Newberg superintendent Stephen Phillips in an email to OPB. 鈥淎LL students need and deserve High Expectations from all school personnel.鈥�
Gresham-Barlow school board chair Mayra Gomez, who also serves as the executive director for student and family services for the North Clackamas School District, said Oregon鈥檚 top officials haven鈥檛 given education the focus it needs.
鈥淥ur governor needs to make sure that all of our kids have high expectations, as well as our educators, but have the tools and the resources to meet those high expectations,鈥� Gomez said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the last area that our government focuses on.鈥�
When the essential skills requirement was removed, critics of the state鈥檚 decision said Oregon鈥檚 educational system lacked rigor.
Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe said those questioning the rigor of Oregon academics should instead look at the standards students are required to learn.
鈥淣o one is saying that the standards need to be reduced at all,鈥� Sipe said. She said standards continue to be rigorous, citing growing expectations for middle school students as an example. 鈥淪tudents are taking Algebra 1 in middle school now,鈥� she said.
Sipe argues that standards 鈥� the learning targets that students are expected to hit 鈥� should be the starting point for any discussion about education requirements.
鈥淭hose are the pieces that need to be reconsidered and discussed before anyone gets into a discussion about credits and testing and all the other things that become the noise of the discussion,鈥� Sipe said.
When it comes to removing the essential skills assessment required for graduation, Sipe said students have already demonstrated essential skills by earning credits in their classes.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 necessarily think there鈥檚 a certain test that should be required if there鈥檚 standards set forth for the class,鈥� she said.
Others think some sort of assessment is necessary, though it should be tailored to individual students.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a one-size-fits-all,鈥� said Sarah Cowan, social studies teacher and senior class advisor at North Salem High School. 鈥淲e have so many kids at so many different levels.鈥�
Gomez, in Gresham, said that she has never had a student not graduate because of the essential skills requirement, but 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was necessary to remove that skill,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 do believe in the wisdom of an essential skills assessment tool of some kind,鈥� said Phillips, the Newberg superintendent. 鈥淭hat could differ and change depending on the specialization that the student depends upon.鈥�
For future graduates, Phillips and others say there are ways other than standardized tests to assess what a student has learned in school 鈥� ways that may better correlate to future plans.
Michelle Buyas is a counselor on special assignment for the Hillsboro School District. She said some kind of portfolio may be a better assessment of what a student has learned over their school careers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have some kind of culmination of, 鈥榯his is what my experience has been, this is what my education has brought me to, and here鈥檚 what I can demonstrate because of it,鈥� but I don鈥檛 think that every student needs to demonstrate that the same way,鈥� Buyas said.
鈥淚 think if we do it that way, you鈥檙e actually creating barriers to kids who have really unique strengths and things that could lead to really great qualities and opportunities for them.鈥�
When it comes to graduating students, educators said state officials need to think about the goal for students once they graduate from Oregon schools, and make sure they have what they need to meet those goals and succeed as adults.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not just focusing on this academic 鈥� math, literacy, science 鈥� that piece of them,鈥� Buyas said. 鈥淲e want to create citizens that are functional in our society.鈥�
With regard to Senate Bill 744 specifically, Umatilla superintendent Sipe hopes Oregon鈥檚 next governor looks at the feedback from community members across the state before making decisions.
鈥淟isten to what they said, then take a look at what maybe needs to happen. And then that鈥檚 fair. But don鈥檛 disregard the voices that took the time to share their thoughts, because far too often that鈥檚 what happens,鈥� Sipe said.
Cowan asks that current teachers and counselors be a part of the conversation going forward, and that schools start earlier in preparing students for graduation.
Others, including Buyas, want to make sure schools have the resources necessary to meet the needs of their students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to take in the higher needs that students and families are bringing to school and to school communities, and raise the bar, when we鈥檙e kind of working with the same resources 鈥� [as] 10, 20 years ago.鈥�
Though Oregon schools have been funded at , school and district officials continue to say cuts are possible, especially in districts with declining enrollment. And while school districts are receiving millions of dollars in , that money must be spent by September 2024. The statewide Student Success Act provides ongoing funding, but there are limits to how districts can spend the money.
Accountability for spending, student achievement also on candidates minds
As assessment results show Oregon students falling behind their peers nationally, a published earlier this year found there should be more oversight and accountability on Oregon school spending and academic performance.
All three candidates agree that there should be better accountability for how tax dollars are spent in schools.
Drazan said she would audit the Oregon Department of Education to make sure funds are being spent effectively.
鈥淲e are spending more money on public education than ever before, yet our graduation rates remain among the worst in the country,鈥� Drazan said.
鈥淎s Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, I will work with the State Board of Education and direct the Oregon Department of Education to hold school districts accountable to the [Student Success] Act鈥檚 requirements with more transparent data about student outcomes, stronger monitoring, and additional support for struggling districts,鈥� Kotek shared.
Additionally, Kotek stated a goal to improve Oregon鈥檚 graduation rate to 鈥�90% for all student groups by 2027.鈥� Currently the state鈥檚 four-year graduation rate is 81%. The long-term goal that Oregon set in 2011 called for 100% of students to earn a diploma or equivalent starting in 2025.
Neither Drazan nor Johnson have set specific graduation targets for Oregon schools.
Drazan鈥檚 goal is to 鈥渋mprove our graduation rate every year that I am in office.鈥�
鈥淯nder Governor Johnson, when we direct funds to our schools, we will know where it is going and whether it鈥檚 being used effectively and efficiently,鈥� Johnson wrote.
Johnson said she will also give Oregon parents more options outside of public schools, 鈥渋ncluding charter schools, home schooling, and other alternative education opportunities such as career and technical education opportunities.鈥�
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