Oklahoma's four-year graduation rate fell from 82.2% for the class of 2024 to 77.6% for the class of 2025, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education's (OSDE) 2026 Public School Report Cards released this week.

The state earned D grades in three categories: academic achievement, chronic absenteeism and graduation rate. It scored a C in academic growth and B grades in postsecondary preparation and English-learner progress, according to KFOR.

However, OSDE said a significant portion of the drop stems from a federal requirement that now excludes Core Curriculum graduates from the calculation. The state's target is to graduate 90% of students as college-and-career ready.

Statewide, 64% of the 1,750 graded schools earned A's, B's or C's. Compared with 2025, 24 fewer schools received a D and 10 fewer received an F.

Achievement stays flat

On state assessments, 26% of students tested proficient or better in English language arts, 25% in math and 30% in science, according to OSDE. Measured against the state's long-term goal of 50% proficiency, those numbers earned a D.

Good attendance ticked up 3.2 percentage points, with 84.1% of students maintaining regular attendance. That fell just short of the state's 85% benchmark.

Absenteeism rules set to change

Under Senate Bill 711, passed in 2025, chronic absenteeism is scheduled to shift from a 10-point grading indicator to a bonus-point category that rewards schools showing improvement. OSDE said it still had to include the indicator for the 2025-26 school year because the state is awaiting final federal approval. The department expects that approval in the coming weeks, which would drop chronic absenteeism as a required indicator starting in the 2026-27 school year.

OKC-area schools in the mix

Individual school and district grades are available on the state's report card portal at oklaschools.com, though OSDE's statewide summary did not break out results for specific metro-area districts.

Oklahoma City Public Schools has reported separate signs of progress in recent months. OKCPS said students improved in 12 of 16 tested areas on 2026 state assessments, according to results the district released Oct. 2, as reported by News 9.

The district also reported that 76.2% of on-grade-level ninth graders completed both Algebra I and English I during the 2025-26 school year, up from a 69.5% baseline in 2023-24, according to an OKCPS news release published in September.

OKCPS Superintendent Dr. Jamie Polk said in that September release that the district's responsibility is "to build a system that knows when a student is getting off track, responds quickly with the right support, and gives every student the opportunity to successfully complete Algebra I and English I and remain on track for graduation."

Postsecondary enrollment climbs

As of Oct. 5, 74.3% of OKCPS juniors and seniors were enrolled in at least one postsecondary opportunity such as AP courses, CareerTech programs or concurrent enrollment, according to an OKCPS news release. That figure was up from a 40.7% baseline in August 2024.

Statewide, 58% of 11th and 12th graders participated in early college and career experiences during the 2025-26 year, a 4.4-percentage-point increase, earning the state a B in postsecondary preparation.

Parents can explore available school results and performance indicators at oklaschools.com.