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Good morning, Salem.

Last week, Oregon Department of Education leaders said the public would have to wait to see the state’s data on student test scores. Today, we can finally bring you the numbers, which don’t look good for Oregon’s students.

Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

The department usually makes those numbers public around Sept. 21. But they quietly announced to school districts that the release would be delayed so they had more time to make graphics showing the trends.

Salem Reporter wrote about the delay last week and pushed officials to release the numbers, filing a public records request for the data.

The state then said they planned to put the numbers out on Friday, Oct. 3. News organizations like Salem Reporter typically see fewer readers on Friday as people’s minds turn toward the weekend. We worried the change was an effort to limit the visibility of numbers widely rumored to make the state look bad.

We said as much in a letter to Charlene Williams, the state schools chief. Managing Editor Rachel Alexander signed on along with editors at The Oregonian, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Oregon Capital Chronicle.

At our request, the state instead made the data public this morning. You can read about it below, but one trend is clear: in Salem and across Oregon, kids aren’t making up ground lost during the pandemic.

Some local schools are showing sustained progress, and efforts are underway to make change. We intend to keep a close eye on this issue all school year. Let us know what you’d like to know about how Oregon’s schools are doing by emailing [email protected].

Here’s some of our latest news. Read all our latest coverage anytime on our website.

www.salemreporter.com

Student test scores stagnant in Salem, across Oregon

Just one quarter of Salem third-graders tested proficient in English last spring. District leaders said they’re focused on improving curriculum, training teachers and promoting attendance to change course.

www.salemreporter.com

Salem events from Oct. 3-9: Haunted houses and prisons, winter markets

Events in Salem this week include the start of Wavra Farms’ indoor winter market, free concerts at Willamette University and the return of Nightmare Factory by the Oregon School foru0026hellip;

www.salemreporter.com

State struggles to recover more than $24 million from people responsible for wildfires

A partial list from the Oregon Department of Forestry shows it has collected $86,000 of $24 million it paid to fight several dozen wildfires that were maliciously or negligently ignitedu0026hellip;

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Student test scores stagnant in Salem, across Oregon

Salem events from Oct. 3-9: Haunted houses and prisons, winter markets

State struggles to recover more than $24 million from people responsible for wildfires

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