Failure is an option for Oregon's students. That must change.

As a parent, I believe that all children are capable of achieving academic success I also believe that under the right leadership, Oregon will have a great public education system once again.

Decades ago, Oregon public schools were in the top ten in the country. Oregonians put their trust in our state to provide a quality education for their children. Over time, misplaced priorities have dropped our state to near the bottom in terms of education outcomes.

As further proof that Oregon has abandoned its core mission of educating our children, Governor Brown recently signed a bill that allows high schoolers to graduate without showing proficiency in essential skills – a bill that’s garnered (negative) headlines around the world. Essentially, Oregon will no longer verify that a high school graduate can read, write, or perform arithmetic at a high school level. That’s no way to send our students in an increasingly competitive labor market.

Although this new policy is advertised as a temporary response to inadequate distance learning during the COVID school shutdown, there has been mounting pressure by activist groups over the past several years to eliminate standardized tests needed to graduate. I believe this temporary measure is part of a long-term strategy to make this policy permanent. Charles Boyle, a spokesman for Brown, claimed this “temporary” policy will benefit students from marginalized communities. As long as state officials hold that view, I suspect they’ll continue to justify a policy that will, in actuality, hinder the prospects of all Oregon students.

I believe one of the greatest gifts you can give your child is an education. Education opens the door to economic stability and prosperity, not just for your child, but for your entire extended family. My great grandmother, Rose America, immigrated to the United States from Puerto Rico in the early 1930s. She was alone, frightened, unable to speak English, and expecting a child. But she was also a fighter, and wanted to make a better life for herself and her children. She worked 12 hours a day in a hair net factory, and rented out the extra room of her Washington Heights, New York apartment to make ends meet.

Her children, my grandmother and her sister, were raised in the same poor neighborhood with the understanding that by finishing school and attending college they could take care of their mother and build a life for themselves. My grandmother graduated from City College and became a bilingual public school teacher. This changed the trajectory of our entire family. She instilled in me the values that I live by today, and was relentless in demanding I do my best in school. To her, failure was not an option.

For Oregon, however, failure apparently is an option. With the Governor’s signature, we have made it easier to let students spend years in our classrooms without learning what they need to thrive. For at least the next three school years, high school students will not be required to take the Essential Learning Skills assessment used to demonstrate the academic competency required to graduate.

This bill not only does a disservice to students whose academic success was interrupted by COVID but also to the students who have worked hard to keep up and do meet the academic standards.

After reviewing much of the public testimony for this bill, I noticed two common themes from those who advocated for it: first, they believe that many students, especially our at-risk and BIPOC students, are incapable of passing these standardized tests; and, second, spending valuable class time to prepare students for a test that they are unable to pass is a waste of time.

The following is an excerpt from one of the letters submitted in support of this bill:

The students I tutored at North Eugene High School were largely Latinx kids, and to a one, they were resigned, fatalistic, and lacking any hope for graduating with their classmates. They knew the score - they knew they were losers in the system. No amount of coaching, cajoling, mentoring from me would inspire them to want to write better. The Essential Skills Requirement had already sunk them. I was not teaching how to write, how to communicate, how to use language for a purpose; I was test prepping them - again.

As a Hispanic woman, a parent, and someone who worked hard to catch up with my peers in high school, I find this narrative insulting. Why are so many children failing these standardize tests? It’s not because the tests are too difficult or unnecessary. Students are failing these tests because Oregon’s education system is unable to fulfill its mission to educate all of Oregon’s children, regardless of race, ethnicity, or first language.

I fear that we have inadvertently succumbed to what former president George W. Bush called the soft bigotry of low expectations. “If you have low expectations, you're going to get lousy results,” he said. “We must not tolerate a system that gives up on people.” To reverse this trend in Oregon and make public education and academic excellence a top priority in our state, we need legislation and programs that address achievement gaps and give students every opportunity to earn their high school diploma.

Here are the key elements of my plan to help Oregon become a leader in public education:

Close the Achievement Gap: If a student graduates from high school but finds they must take remedial courses in college, those courses should be offered at no cost to the student, including all of the support systems needed, such as tutoring and bilingual support. This will help students fulfil their academic requirements and set them on a path toward a lifetime of success.

Youth Apprenticeships: One of the best ways to keep students engaged is through meaningful career technical education. Measure 97 enabled schools to bring back career technical education; now it’s time to take this to the next level with a Statewide Youth Apprenticeship Model. Starting in 11th grade, students should be offered the opportunity to work in their industry of choice, earn academic credit, and learn a trade. These programs would be designed to last beyond high school, providing a smooth transition to full time employment and higher education programs. There are currently 20,000 youth apprentices in the United States, over half of them in Wisconsin and North Carolina. Let’s make Oregon a leader in hands-on learning.

Universal College Credits: To reduce the cost of college education and improve outcomes, there must be coordination between our community colleges and universities. A universal college credits program ensures that no credits are lost, and that all credits are transferrable in full, between any community college or public university in the state.

Support for Parents: Teachers are with their students only 25% of the day, yet are held 100% responsible for their success. Parents and guardians play a major role in the academic success of their children, but in many cases are not sure how to help them. This is where Parent/Guardian Workshops can help. By focusing on the family and giving parents ways to support academic excellence, students will be become more self-disciplined, more involved in school, more responsible, and eager to learn. These workshops should be integrated with our public education system.

Support for Teachers: Often it is a challenge for teachers to keep all their students on track during class. Some students have difficulty paying attention, while others are not academically challenged enough. Large class sizes make it even more difficult for teachers to keep everyone engaged. This is where small workgroups led by instructors can provide the individualized attention students need.

Instead of addressing the issues and moving toward a solution, our leaders have devalued Oregon’s high school diploma. Moving the goalposts to improve graduation rates erodes the trust we have in government and hinders our children’s future success. Restoring that trust will require tangible results.

As a parent, I believe that all children are capable of achieving academic success I also believe that under the right leadership, Oregon will have a great public education system once again. Let’s send the message to every child, parent, and educator that failure will no longer be an option in our great state.

Jessica Gomez is Founder/CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices and serves on the OIT Board of Trustees, Oregon Healthcare & Oregon Business Development committees. She is running for Governor of Oregon.

Photo credit: "Class of 2014" by acase1968 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0