Audit Finds Oregon Education Department Has More Work to Do on High School Success Program
A state audit found Oregon’s Department of Education has completed one of eight recommended improvements to its High School Success program. Auditors also found a missed reporting deadline and gaps in how the agency tracks its progress.
SALEM, Ore. - The Oregon Department of Education has completed one of eight recommendations from a 2024 audit of its High School Success program, according to a follow-up audit released by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
Auditors found that five recommendations were partially implemented and two had not been implemented as of their review, which covered work completed before July 2026. Most of the recommendations have a June 2027 target date. One of the two that had not been implemented, however, called for the department to report to lawmakers by the 2026 legislative session.
That report was supposed to explain how the department would identify and share successful practices, effective spending, and challenges faced by schools receiving grants. Auditors said the department had not presented that information to the Legislature by the agreed deadline.
Voters approved Measure 98 in 2016 to address low graduation rates and help students prepare for college and careers. The resulting High School Success program provides grants for dropout prevention, career and technical education, and college-level learning opportunities. Lawmakers allocated just over $338 million to the program for the 2025-27 biennium.
The 2024 audit urged the department to better connect schools’ spending and strategies with student results. In the new review, auditors said the department still had not established the measures and baseline data needed to determine which investments improve student outcomes.
Auditors also found that the department lacked a documented plan for tracking its work on the earlier recommendations. Although an employee was assigned to track their status, the process was largely informal, the report said. Auditors could not determine whether the department was reasonably on track to finish the work by June 2027. They also found no evidence that the State Board of Education or another oversight body had reviewed the problems identified in internal or external reviews.
The department agreed with all seven new recommendations in the follow-up audit. In its response, it said it was developing an internal audit policy that would set out responsibilities for corrective action plans, progress tracking, and oversight.
The full audit report includes the status of each earlier recommendation and the department’s response.
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