Measuring Michigan

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Measuring Michigans Graduation Dropout Rates

• The Impact of the Four-Year Cohort

Margaret Merlyn Ropp Ph.D., Director Center for
Educational Performance Information
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Impetus for Change

• The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to
  use a graduation rate that tracks students from
  the beginning of high school to completion of a
  regular diploma in four years.
• The National Governors Association convened a
  task force to help states develop a standard
  methodology to measure high school graduation
  rates.
• All 50 governors committed to adopting the
  four-year cohort methodology to track state
  graduation rates.
• Michigan will be the 17th state to implement the
  NGA Graduation Rate Compact.

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What is a Cohort Rate ?
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The Four-Year Cohort Rate tracks students
starting in the 9th grade

• Students are assigned to a cohort when they first
  start 9th grade.
• The cohort is a group of students expected to
  graduate in the same year.
• First-time 9th graders during the 2003-04 school
  year were assigned to the 2007 cohort.

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• All students are tracked throughout high school
• Students who transfer from one public school to
  another are considered transfers out of their old
  districts and transfers in to their new districts
• Students who transfer in to a Michigan public
  school from a private school or out of state
  after their 9th grade year are added to the
  cohort.
• Students who transfer out of Michigans public
  schools for a private or parochial school, home
  school or another state are considered exempt
  and removed from the cohort.

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At the end of four years, all students are
separated into four categories

• On-Track Graduate - completed high school with a
  regular diploma in four years or less.
• Other Completer - earned a GED or other
  certificate, or reached special education maximum
  age.
• Dropout - left high school permanently during the
  four year cohort period or whose whereabouts are
  unknown
• Off-Track Graduated Continuing completed high
  school with a regular diploma in more than four
  years or did not complete high school, but
  continues in school.

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• The cohort total for a school or district is the
  total number of students in these four categories.

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Calculating a Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
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• A cohort graduation rate is determined by the
  formula
• On-Track Graduates
• Cohort Total

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Example 1Happy Valley Public School District
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1,254
To calculate Happy Valleys graduation rate,
divide the total number of On-Track Graduates
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1,443
by the Cohort Total 1,254
86.90
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Example 2Sunnydale Community Schools
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Calculating a Four-Year Cohort Dropout Rate
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• Drop out rates are calculated the same way as
  graduation rates, substituting the number of
  dropouts in the numerator
• Dropped Out
• Cohort Total

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Example 1Happy Valley Public School District
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Rates for Subgroups

• Four-year cohort graduation rates will also be
  calculated for subgroups in districts and the
  state, including
• race/ethnicity
• gender
• race/ethnicity by gender
• economically disadvantaged
• special education
• migrant
• limited English proficiency

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Michigans Graduation and Dropout Rates
August 20, 2008