High school students in Oregon are allowed to graduate without proof of reading or math proficiency.

Question

Oregon governor signs new law allowing students to graduate without proving they can read, write, or do math.  

Answer 1

This is True

The original article says that the governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, singed Senate Bill 744 into law. After copy and pasting the original articles title into google I came across another website:

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2021/08/gov-kate-brown-signed-a-law-to-allow-oregon-students-to-graduate-without-proving-they-can-write-or-do-math-she-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-it.html#:~:text=12%3A42%20p.m.-,Gov.,order%20to%20receive%20a%20diploma.

However the contents of this article are not so important, what is important is a hyperlink embedded in the words "Senate Bill 744" which will lead you to a one page overview website owned by the Oregon Government:

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/rules-and-policies/Documents/SB744_OnePageOverview.docx.pdf

In this PDF it clearly states that this bill "maintains Oregon’s stringent high school credit requirements for graduation. Students are required to have knowledge and skills in reading, writing, and math to graduate with a diploma in Oregon.". This makes it seem that the original article is lying, however reading further you can see that the bill also allows for a school to "Temporarily suspend the requirement for students to demonstrate proficiency in the Essential Skills." With this in mind, students can graduate without proficiency in reading or math. However it is important to note that this is not applicable to all students, and is primarily used for inclusivity. 

Comments

Excellent lineup of sources! I liked the fact that you linked to both the Oregon Live article that explains the matter in solid detail, as well as to the Senate Bill. If a source links to official governmental documentations or sites, there's a good chance it is reliable.

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You did a great fact check! I really like how you used verification through all of your sources to dig deeper. You included links to the articles and summarized it as well, which is proof of a reliable fact-check.

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Great job on this factcheck! You managed to elaborate on this somewhat misleading statement. Additionally, you used very reliable sources :)

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This is excellent fact-checking. I really like the importance of mentioning the "Senate Bill 744" and the summary of the bill itself made it very digestible.

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According to a Snopes fact-check, the claim isn't entirely true. The media outlet reported that students would still be required to pass multiple classes in the respective skill areas, like math, reading and writing, in order to graduate rather than be subjected to standardized tests to prove proficiency. But still proficiency via taking courses is required. Wouldn't the claim be exaggeration or misleading? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/oregon-graduation-proficiencies/

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Excellent fact check! You managed to use lots of evidences and sources to support your claim, and your explanation is precise.

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This was very well done. I like how you used multiple reliable sources to back up your claim.