Graduation Counts: A Compact on State High School Graduation Data Kids Count Annual Conference Septe

1
Graduation Counts A Compact on State High School
Graduation Data Kids Count Annual Conference
September 2008

• Bridget Curran
• Program Director, Education Division
• National Governors Association
• Center for Best Practices

2
The Compact

• Governors agreed to
• Take steps to implement a standard, four-year
  adjusted cohort graduation rate.
• Lead efforts to improve state data collection,
  reporting and analysis, and link data systems
  across the entire education pipeline from
  preschool through postsecondary education.
• Take steps to implement additional indicators
  that provide richer information and understanding
  about outcomes for students and how well the
  system is serving them.
• Report annual progress on the improvement of
  their state high school graduation, completion
  and dropout rate data.

3
The Formula

• Graduation rate on-time graduates in year x
  (first-time entering ninth graders in year x
  4) (transfers in) (transfers out)

4
The Formula

• Graduates are those who earn a diploma.
• On-time, for most students is four years and
  can include those completing graduation
  requirements in the summer of a given year.
• Students with disabilities for whom the
  individualized education plan (IEP) contains an
  expectation of high school graduation more than
  four years after entering grade nine are assigned
  to the appropriate cohort based on that
  expectation.

5
The Formula

• Also 1) recent immigrants who enter American
  high schools with limited English proficiency and
  need an additional year of English language
  instruction, and 2) students in programs that
  give them five years to earn both a high school
  diploma and an associates degree.
• To ensure the exceptions are used appropriately,
  states should establish guidelines and standards
  for schools and districts to follow.

6
The Formula

• In limited circumstances, students earning
  modified diplomas, such as a special education
  diploma, may count as graduates if the modified
  diploma is the appropriate standard that the
  state and the school system set for the student
  in an IEP, for example.
• Students earning high school credentials by
  passing General Educational Development (GED)
  tests are not considered graduates for the
  purpose of this definition. Students receiving a
  certificate of completion or other alternative to
  a diploma also not counted.

7
The Formula

• Transfers by students from one school to another
  must be documented with a transcript request from
  a receiving school. Death or incarceration should
  also be documented, and incarcerated students
  should be counted as transfer students as they
  move out of and back into the system.
• By default, a student for whom there is no
  information should be documented as a nongraduate
  or dropout.

8
State Progress

• 17 states have reported graduation rate using the
  compact formula
• 4 more plan to release in/for 2008
• 8 in 2009
• 9 in 2010
• 6 in 2011
• 1 in 2012
• 5 unsure or no plan

9
State Progress

• 9 use to meet NCLB requirements for high school
  grad rate AZ, CO, LA, MA, NY, NC, SC, TX, and
  VT.
• MN will start as of 2008 RI in 2009
• Others plan to start once they have the data
• Proposed regs would require all states to do so
  by 2013.

10
State Progress

• 12 of the 17 calculate a straight 4-year rate
  with no exceptions or placements in other cohorts
• 5 using exceptions (CO, DE, MN, NY, and SC)

11
State Progress

• 36 states have the data system (DQC 4 of 10
  elements needed), an increase of 10 since 2006
• Student identifiers 44
• Enrollment data 48
• Individual graduate and dropout data 48
• State data audit system 42

12
Challenges

• Several states not sure about use, various
  reasons
• A couple struggling to get the data system built
  and/or data collected
• Still concerns about quality of data, encourage
  using audits and other measures to ensure
  integrity
• Concerns about comparability and comparisons
• Messages around release and changes/drops

13
State Action

• State LegislationMD example
• State Board RegulationsCO, LA, and VA examples
• At least 9 already using for NCLB requirements
  more plan to
• Others using in state acct. LA, MA, NY, NC, TX

14
More Information

• NGA Center documents www.nga.org/center/edu
• (Graduation Counts under high school redesign)
• NGA Center and CCSSO technical working group
  paper www.ccsso.org (EIMAC reports)