At Madras High School, the number of freshmen on track to graduate has surged. In the 2013-14 school year, less than half of freshmen had six credits by the end of the school year, or 25 percent of what a student needs to earn a diploma.

As the Hermiston School District works to improve its graduation rates, it will intensify its focus on students still a few years from receiving a diploma.

When Trayvon McKoy moved to Washington, D.C., from Maryland about two years ago, he’d never played drums before in his life. Then, when he enrolled at Ballou High School, he says he didn’t have much choice.