By the numbers: Salem-Keizer hits 81% graduation rate for 2020
Yasmine Duarte, right, and Jennifer Duarte, left, hold up their sister, Genesis, following her graduation from North Salem High School on Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
The Salem-Keizer School District awarded diplomas to a record 81% of seniors last year, with 2,482 students graduating high school on time.
It’s an improvement over 2019’s graduation rate of 79%, and up from a 71% district graduation rate in 2015.
The Class of 2020 faced an unusual senior year as the Covid pandemic led to statewide school closures in March. Seniors who were passing classes when schools shut down received credit for them in April, meaning many had already earned their diplomas well before the school year would normally finish.
Oregon also waived a graduation requirement that students demonstrate “essential skills,” typically done by passing standardized tests as a junior or submitting work samples.
Here’s how Salem-Keizer’s graduation rates have changed over time, and how the stack up for different high schools and groups of students.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
WE GET SALEM THE FACTS. Covering your community with care and depth. Salem Reporter – fair, accurate, independent. Subscribe and support our essential local service.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
