Most Union County School Districts Post Above-Average 2025 Graduation Rates

The Oregon Department of Education reported a statewide four-year graduation rate of 83% for the class of 2025, an increase of 1,546 graduates compared with the class of 2024. The class of 2025 is also the first cohort since the COVID-19 pandemic to complete all four years in person, a factor education leaders say may have helped recovery in outcomes.

Union County districts largely outpaced the statewide average. ODE figures posted for Union County show La Grande SD at 93.8% in 2025, up from 89.3% in 2024. Imbler SD and North Powder SD each reported perfect rates of 100% for both 2024 and 2025. Cove SD posted a dramatic rise to 96.4% in 2025 from 54.8% in 2024. Elgin rose to 82.6% from 74.3%. Union SD was the only district to decline, from 83.3% in 2024 to 78.6% in 2025.

Those local results mean different things for students and families across the county. High rates in La Grande, Cove, Imbler and North Powder will be cited by schools and employers as signs of local strength in graduating students ready for work or postsecondary study. The decline in Union SD and the large year-to-year swing in Cove raise questions for district leaders about cohort size, reporting changes, alternative diplomas and targeted supports for students who fall off track.

Graduation rates are a blunt but important measure of educational equity. Sharp percentage swings can reflect small cohort sizes or reporting anomalies as much as program changes. Accountability systems in other states put graduation rates alongside test results and growth measures; for context, some summative scoring systems combine standardized test scores, student academic growth, graduation rates and chronic absenteeism on a 0-100 scale, while other report-card frameworks weight school achievement about 80% and academic growth about 20.

For local policymakers and public-health planners, graduation trends affect workforce readiness, mental health needs and long-term economic resilience. Higher graduation rates are linked to better employment prospects and lower rates of social and health problems later in life; conversely, drops in graduation can signal the need for targeted interventions such as credit recovery, counseling, or community-based supports.

Readers can expect follow-up reporting on district-level explanations and cohort sizes that put percentage changes in clearer context. Local school boards and administrators will need to explain the drivers behind Cove’s jump and Union’s decline and outline steps to sustain gains across the county.