Glossary
Glossary of terms
Every word we use on this site, explained in plain language.
- Choropleth map
- A map that uses shades of color to show how a number changes from place to place. Darker shades usually mean a higher value.
- Cohort
- A group of students grouped together because they share a starting point — for example, everyone who finished high school in the same year. Following a cohort over time lets us see what happens next.
- Completion
- Whether a student earned a postsecondary credential — such as a certificate or degree — within a set time, usually six years of enrolling.
- Credential
- An official certificate, license, or degree a person earns to show they completed a program of study or training — for example, a one-year certificate, an associate degree, or a bachelor's degree.
- Data suppression
- When a group has fewer than 10 students, we hide that number to protect student privacy. A small group could make an individual student identifiable, so we never show it.
- Geographic level
- How finely the data is broken down by place — statewide, by Education Service District (ESD), by county, by school district, or by local workforce region.
- Median earnings
- The middle value of everyone's earnings in a group. Half of people earn more than this number and half earn less. The median is used instead of the average because a few very high earners can pull an average up and make it misleading.
- Postsecondary enrollment
- Signing up for and attending education after high school. This includes community colleges, public and private universities, and many career and technical training programs.
- Retention (persistence)
- Whether a student who started postsecondary education came back for a second year. It's an early sign of whether students are staying on their path, not just getting in the door.
- Statewide average
- The single number that describes the whole state of Oregon. It gives you a reference point so a district's number has meaning.