Oregon public schools among worst in the nation: study

A study recently conducted by personal finance company Wallethub ranked public school systems across the United States from best to worst. Near the bottom of the list was Oregon, which performed poorly despite being among the states with the highest percentage of spending on education.

In overall quality, the Beaver state was ranked 45th ahead of just West Virginia, Louisiana, Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. When it came to safety, it came in at 44th in the nation, with only Tennessee, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Missouri, and Mississippi receiving lower scores. 

According to the study, Oregon received an overall score of 38.60. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Massachusetts came in at 74.36, with other states in the northeast taking the top five spots in both categories.

To arrive at those numbers, researchers analyzed 32 "relevant metrics" and weighted them accordingly. Aside from "Median SAT Score," "Math and Reading Test Scores," "Dropout Rate," and similar metrics, things such as "Graduation Rate Among Low-Income Students" and "Pupil-Teacher Ratio" were also included.

To calculate safety scores, researchers relied on metrics such as "Share of High School Students Not Attending School Due to Safety Concerns," "Share of High School Students Participating in Violence," and "Share of Armed Students, among others."

Oregon ranked 23rd when it came to spending on education, landing it in a cohort WalletHub labelled "High Spending & Weak School System." In a statement, analyst Cassandra Happe explained that "getting enough funding is essential for a productive school system, but simply having more money doesn’t guarantee success."

"How funds are applied also plays a big role in how good a school system is," she added, "as does the quality of educators, other professionals and the curriculum. In addition, schools need to focus not just on test scores but also on making sure that students feel safe, comfortable and cared for."