A new analysis commissioned by advocacy group Stand for Children suggests Oregon’s short school year and widespread chronic absenteeism are holding back students’ reading and math performance. The report, prepared by consulting firm ECONorthwest, finds that aligning Oregon’s attendance rates and school calendar with national averages could significantly raise proficiency levels across the state.

According to the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) report, one-third of Oregon’s students now qualify as chronically absent, up from 20 percent before the pandemic. The state also ranks among the five shortest in total instructional time, averaging fewer hours in school each year than most of the nation.

ECONorthwest’s findings suggest these lost hours translate directly into learning gaps. If Oregon students attended school as regularly as before the pandemic and had the same instructional days as the national average, the state could move into the top 10 nationally for English Language Arts and around the middle of the pack for mathematics. “Our kids just don’t have enough time, and our educators don’t have enough time,” said Sarah Pope, Stand for Children’s Oregon executive director.

During recent hearings before the Oregon House Interim Committee on Education, Brown University researcher Matthew Kraft testified that Oregon ranks 47th nationally in total hours spent in school. While most states require at least 180 instructional days per year, Oregon does not. Its rules allow districts to count up to 60 hours for activities like recess or professional development as part of instructional time, leading to wide variation between districts.

In some districts, students effectively receive multiple additional years of instruction by the time they graduate compared to peers in lower-hour districts. Stand for Children and ECONorthwest are developing a district-by-district map of instructional time disparities, expected later this spring.

Advocates say the findings should serve as a warning against proposed cost-cutting measures that shorten school calendars. Pope invoked Oregon’s 2003 budget crisis, when dozens of districts ended their school years early, saying the state “cannot cut days” if it wants to maintain student progress. New legislation under development would increase attendance reporting frequency, refine definitions of instructional time, and potentially create an early-warning system for struggling districts.

For now, the Oregon Department of Education collects limited district-level data on instructional hours, a gap Pope and others argue reduces statewide accountability. Experts like Kraft emphasize that time in school is one of the most consistently linked factors to student achievement — and that improving attendance and adding days could provide a measurable academic lift.

“What we offer to children in terms of the amount of instruction they get,” Pope said, “is going to have a direct connection to how well they do academically.”