What is the Cohort Graduation Rate?New formula required by the federal

government to calculate graduation rates

2008-09 cohort is made up of the students who first entered high school in 2005-06

Adjusted for students who move into or out of the system, emigrate to another country, or are deceased

Change from Previous YearsIn the past, graduation rates were based on the NCES formulaNational Center for Education Statistics (NCES)–

One year snapshotDid not include students who receive a modified diploma,

GED, adult high school diploma, or alternative certificate in the calculation

Looked at all graduates in a given year, regardless of number of years in school.

Cohort – Follows a four year group (or cohort) of studentsStudents who receive a modified diploma, GED, adult high

school diploma, or alternative certificate are counted as non-graduates

Looks at students who graduate within four yearsODE has received approval for a five-year cohort rate for

next year

How is it Calculated?

Why is the Cohort Rate Lower?

Factors that lower the cohort rate:

Inclusion of students who receive a modified diploma, GED, adult high school diploma, or alternative certificate as non-graduates

Counting only those who graduate within 4 years

If a school has a 65% cohort grad rate does this mean 35% of their students are dropouts?No. While the remaining 35% does include

dropouts, this percentage also includes students who received a GED certificate; received an adult high school diploma from a community college; students who are enrolled in an alternative school; or students still enrolled and taking longer than four years to graduate.

Why Change to this Rate and Why Now?Federal requirement for all states starting with

2011-12 AYP report

A more uniform and accurate measure of high school graduation which allows us to clearly see where each student is ending up after 4 years in high school

Producing a cohort rate requires a longitudinal data system to follow students through high school. ODE has been working with school districts since 2004 to build this data system

The Class of 2009 is the first set of students that we can follow from their eighth grade year through four years of high school

AccountabilityFor this transitional year, ODE has produced both

a cohort graduation rate and a NCES graduation rate

For this year, schools that do not meet federal AYP graduation requirements based on their cohort graduation rate, may meet on their NCES rate

Next year ODE will not produce the NCES rate

ODE will produce both a four-year and five-year cohort rate next year

Comparing to Other StatesCan Oregon’s cohort formula be compared

to other state’s cohort formulas?Not this year as states are still in various

stages of implementatione.g. some states do not currently require their

special education students to meet cohort graduation targets.

In 2011-12, the cohort graduation rate will be the common standard used by every state and there will be a higher degree of comparability

Dropout RatesThe calculation of dropout rates has not changed

from previous years and is not impacted by the changes in the graduation rate calculation

A dropout is defined as an individual who has withdrawn from school and has not received a regular diploma, modified diploma, extended diploma, alternative certificate, or GED

The NCES dropout rate is the number of students who drop out of school (grades 9-12) in a given year divided by the total number of students enrolled that year

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