Oregon last week suspended the graduation requirement of math, reading and writing skills until the 2027-2028 academic year. It cited its discriminatory effects on minority students.

The Oregon State Board of Education unanimously voted on Thursday to extend the benchmark break, which was originally instituted in 2020, during Covid.

The Oregonian reported that public criticism had caused the vote to be delayed by a significant amount. Christine Drazan, a former Republican candidate for governor, was a vocal opponent and submitted public comments opposing the suspension. Drazan claimed that the board of Education refused to accept responsibility for the poor academic performance in the state and wanted to institutionalize academic mediocrity.

Drazan stated in a press release that the board did not discuss its responsibility for the lagging achievement of academics in our state. Instead, they blamed a tool that measures a student’s reading, writing and math skills. It is disappointing that these unelected officials chose to ignore the public’s comments and to continue on a path which neglects their responsibility of helping students reach high standards.

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The K-12 system won’t be holding students to a graduation standard until another four years. The outlet reported that state school board members claimed the requirement hurt marginalized students who often had to take additional classes in their senior year in order to demonstrate mastery of math, reading, and writing.

The state-mandated tests will continue to be given to the majority of Oregon high schoolers, but they will not be used to determine a student’s readiness for graduation. Some critics claimed that the requirements did not lead to better outcomes for students after graduation.

Vicky Lopez Sanchez (a dean of Portland Community College) told the board of education at a recent meeting that “we haven’t suspended assessments of any kind.” “We are only suspending the misuse of these assessments.” “I think it’s in the best interests of Oregon students.”

Before Democratic Governor Kate Brown suspended the requirements due to the pandemic in 2009, students were required to demonstrate their proficiency in reading and writing, math, or both on a standard test, or through a teacher-assigned assignment. The publication stated that students also had to earn credits and plan their future after high school.

Oregon’s Department of Education also imposed Covid restrictions as a punishment, while removing academic excellence pillars. The Department of Education decided in January 2022 to deny federal Covid funds to a rural district that had made the mask requirement optional. It deferred to parents and their families. The department stated that it would continue to impose the fine until the district complied with the state’s mandatory indoor mask requirement.