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High schoolers in Portland Public Schools have dramatically increased their participation in career technical education and taken more college-level exams over the past five years, according to data presented to the Portland School Board at a Jan. 8 meeting.
The data is encouraging for Oregon’s largest school district, which has struggled with a problem that many districts across the state continue to face. At issue: While high schools in Oregon tend to award diplomas to a majority of their students, other metrics lag behind graduation rates. For example, PPS officials shared in March that the class of 2024 posted a 69.1% post-secondary readiness rate—a measure of whether students leave high school prepared for higher education or a job. That stood in stark contrast to an 84% graduation rate.
There are six routes that high school students can follow to demonstrate post-secondary readiness in PPS, including passing multiple Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, or completing career technical education, known as CTE. Others may demonstrate proficiency through standardized tests or by obtaining a seal of biliteracy.
Early data from the 2024–25 school year indicates more students might be on track to graduate with the necessary skills.
“What we know from research is that young folks today are most successful after high school when they’ve had the experience of engaging in college-level coursework as well as CTE,” said Dr. Filip Hristić, PPS’s senior director of secondary academics.
In the 2024–25 academic year, the number of students taking AP exams ticked upward by 7%. Pass rates on those exams increased as well, climbing to 75.2% from 69%, indicating more students understood the material. Staff presented a less-detailed breakdown of IB exams, but noted the number of tests taken increased 13.7% since 2023.
PPS also bolstered pathways with Portland Community College in the 2024–25 school year, with students earning 12,091 college credits that year, up from 9,530 the previous year. Students earned another 6,874 college credits from Portland State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology.
Much of the growth in 2024–25 took place in conjunction with PCC. A PPS staff memo credits that to an increase in dual credit core courses at the high-school level, and to expanding the base of what qualifies for college credit. If those credits are transferred, PPS officials calculated a total tuition savings of about $3.2 million.
The district also saw more than 12,500 students participate in career technical education in the 2024–25 school year, up 42% from 2023–24. CTE has seen a resurgence in recent years as college has grown less affordable and specialized jobs post enticing earning rates.
The district offers 80 programs in 20 career clusters for students. In the most recent school year, 1,930 students completed a program. That was up 31% year over year, according to the presentation.
