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Tools to Help Evaluate Oregon Schools
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Finding the Right School
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 "Can
you tell me which community has the best schools?" That is one of
the most frequent question we receive from the Moving to Portland Web site.
It's a difficult question to answer because schools are like automobiles;
each has it own distinctive style. Some students require a very structured
setting whereas others thrive in a more open atmosphere. Some students do
better when they can be immersed in a subject matter for weeks at a time
whereas others need a number of subjects for a short period of time each
day.
Portland Monthly Magazine Guide to Schools
 In
their December issue each year, the
Portland Monthly
magazine reports on over 600 schools in the metro area and make what they
referred to as a "crib sheet." The sheet gives school rankings, test
scores, and statistics that will help you evaluate the schools without the
need for in-depth study. The report covers both public and private
schools as well as "alternative options" schools.
Included in the document are Advanced Placement (AP), International
Baccalaureate (IB) programs, average number of students per grade, student-teacher
ratio, Oregon Statewide Assessment (OSA), etc. They track 11 different
components.
Click
here to visit the real estate page at the Portland Monthly Web site
− you will find the link to the school report on this page.
Tools to Help with Evaluation
You have two choices for determining the quality of schools
in Oregon. First you can use a number of Web sites that give information
about Oregon schools such as location, class size, special programs, etc.
These sites are
not sponsored or affiliated with state department of education or school
districts.
The other choice is using the
Oregon Department of
Education Web site. We can point you to three tools at the Oregon
Department of Education Web site that will help you evaluate an Oregon School:
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SAT Scores (found on the report cards)
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Oregon Statewide Assessment Test (OSA)
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Oregon School Report Cards
These tools are discussed in detail below (see 1, 2, and
3). The SAT and OSA are standardized test. Each year in late fall,
the Oregon Department of Education produces annual performance report
cards for schools for the previous school year.
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 Web
Sites to Evaluate Oregon Schools
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Great Schools
This site provides a numeric rating for schools on a scale of 1 - 10.
The rating is based on test results which is public information.
You can also post one review for each school your children attend.
Reviews submitted by students will be read by a moderator and posted
if they meet the guidelines. The site has some good information about "Choosing
the Right School."
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PSK12
This site is the provider of school performance information for K-12
public schools. It takes the public information (i.e., Oregon Department
of Education) and presents it an easy to understand way using charts
and graphs.
It's worth your time to explore the site.
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Private
School Revieww You can obtain free, detailed profiles
of private schools and their surrounding communities. This is
a commercial site with numerous paid links.
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School Tree
They offer listings for over 140,000 public schools, charter schools,
magnet schools, private schools, and school districts. To get
started, go to the homepage and click any state you wish to search from
there, click on a county, then a city, then a school. This
site has basic information about all the schools in Oregon. It
provides data on class size, Title I, etc.
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 College
SAT Scores
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All the Oregon high school report cards show the average
college entrance SAT score for senior graduating during a given school year.
The table contains the following:
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School, state, and national average scores for the
verbal and math tests. Starting in the 2005-06 school year, writing
is another area tested.
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The percentage of students tested at the school and
in the state of Oregon.
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The number of students tested at the school and in
the state of Oregon.
Feeder Schools If a high school has strong
SAT scores, it follows that students coming into that high school must have
received a solid education in the elementary and middle schools feeding
the high school.
View SAT Scores for Oregon High Schools
Here are two places to view the SAT scores:
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We have created a Portland Metro Area High School
SAT page with the scores for the last 4-5 graduating classes – go to
SAT Scores to view.
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SAT scores for individual schools are kept with the
school report card – go to State of Oregon Department of Education Web
site to view
School Report Cards.
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 Oregon
Assessment Tests (OSA)
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Going strictly by standardized test scores to evaluate
a school means you can compare "apples to apples". The Oregon standardized
testing program started in 1991 when the Oregon State Legislature passed
the Oregon Educational Act. Oregon Statewide Assessment (OSA) is an
effort to hold students accountable for high academic standards as measured
by a series of annual tests conducted at
benchmark grade levels.
These test scores show how the Oregon students at an individual
school performed, on average, in relation to the statewide averages, depending
on the test. Three types of comparison can be made for each school:
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Improvement or decline with the school itself over
time
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Ranking against all other schools statewide
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Comparison of the school with demographically similar
schools
Let's explain some of the OSA terms and the testing methods,
then we'll point you to where you can obtain the scores for every public
school in Oregon (plus some private schools if they elect to participate).
OSA Terms and Testing Methodology
OSA is made up of multiple-choice and performance assessments
in these areas:
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Reading and literature knowledge and skills (grades
3, 5, 8 and 10)
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Mathematics knowledge and skills (grades 3, 5, 8 and
10)
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Science (grades 8 and 10)
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Social Sciences (grades 5, 8, and 10)
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Writing (grades 5, 8 and 10)
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Mathematics problem solving (grades 5, 8 and 10)
Oregon law mandates that public school students be tested
annually in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. The federal No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) law mandates annual testing for all states by 2005-2006.
NCLB does not explicitly require states to administer the same test from
year to year.
OSA is a Performance Standards Test
OSA is different from national, norm-referenced tests used
in many districts and states. The OSA is a criterion-referenced assessment.
As a result, the types of scores produced from the OSA are somewhat different
from those produced by national, norm-referenced tests. OSA is based on
"performance standards" which means that the number, type, and minimum scores
required on state and local assessments have been established by a panel
of educators. Read the
criteria at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) Web site.
Scoring System
For reading/literature and mathematics, scores produced
from the OSA are based on an achievement scale widely used in the Northwest.
The scale, with numbers ranging from about 150 to 300, is similar to other
scales such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scale or other "growth"
scales. Each point on the scale is at an equal distance from the previous
point on the scale, so changes up or down can be charted and viewed as comparable
from year to year.
Writing and mathematics problem solving rely on a model,
which trains expert "judges," typically classroom teachers, to match student
work to criteria for performance on a predetermined scale.
Comparing Schools with Demographically Similar Schools
OSA uses a School socioeconomic score (SES) to compare
similar schools. A composite picture of a school’s socioeconomic status
(SES) is drawn from available information describing the school’s demographics.
Four variables were identified that best predict student achievement:
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Percent of students eligible for free or reduced price
lunch
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Student mobility rate
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Student attendance rate
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At grades 8 and 10, level of education of the most
educated parent
From this information on all Oregon public schools, an
SES index is built using a weighted combination of these four indicators.
Schools are then ranked on the SES index. At the Oregon Department
of Education Web site, you can then compare a given school with schools
having a similar SES index.
Where to Find the Test Results
OSA scores can be view by the school district overall as
well as individual schools within a school district at the Oregon Department
of Education Web site. They keep three school years of data on Web
site.
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We have created a Web page all about the Oregon Assessment
Test – go to OSA to view. Scroll
to the bottom of the page to locate the links to the test results.
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The Oregon Department of Education maintains the OSA
scores for all Oregon public schools online and you can find them at
OSA Results.
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 Oregon
School Report Cards
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The Oregon Department of Education produces yearly report
cards for schools and districts in this state. These reports--called for
by the 1999 state legislature--provide educators with an opportunity to
communicate directly with their constituents about how local schools are
performing. Over time, they will allow educators, parents and taxpayers
to chart the progress of Oregon schools.
Each school is given an overall rating. This rating is
a composite of four categories:
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Student performance
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Student behavior
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School characteristics
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Improvement adjustment
The rating system factors in both current performance and
improvement over time. Student performance is rated as exceptional, strong,
satisfactory, low or unacceptable. Student behavior is rated as exceptional,
strong, satisfactory, strong or low. School Characteristics:
The five ratings for this category are exceptional, strong, satisfactory,
low or unacceptable. Visit the
Oregon
Department of Education Report Card Guide for an explanation of how
to read the school report card as well as the history of report cards.
Where to Find the Report Cards
The Report Card for a school district and schools within
a district has other very valuable information on it such as attendance,
student dropout numbers, faculty data, etc.
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We have created a Web page all about the Oregon Report
Cards – go to Oregon School Report
Cards to view. Scroll to the bottom of the page to locate
the links to the reports.
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You can view the results of school report cards
at the Department of Education
School Report Cards. The Oregonian (state's largest
newspaper), published the grades for the Portland metro area 2003-2003
report cards by area:
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