PORTLAND, Oregon — Chronic absenteeism amongst K-12 students in the state of Oregon decreased in the 2023-2024 school year, according to new data released by the Oregon Department of Education.
65.7% of students were regular attendees, up 3.8% from the previous year. Oregon defines a regular attendee as someone who is in class 90% of the time. Attendance numbers for K-5 students showed an even greater improvement, up 6.7% from 2022-2023.
However, numbers are still down considerably from before the COVID-19 pandemic; 79.6% of students in the state were regular attendees during the 2018-2019 school year, the last full year before the pandemic.
Attendance in some districts in the Portland metro lagged behind the state numbers. Only 63% of Portland Public Schools students were regular attendees, and only 53% of students in the Parkrose district met that threshold.
But there is another bright spot in the report: The percentage of Oregon ninth graders on track to graduate in 2023-2024 increased to 85%. That is the second-highest number ever measured, according to the Oregon Department of Education.
In the two metro districts discussed above, the numbers are even better. 89% of ninth graders at PPS schools were on track to graduate, while 90% of Parkrose ninth graders were on track to graduate.