Measuring Michigan’s Graduation & Dropout

Rates

The Impact of the Four-Year Cohort

Margaret Merlyn Ropp Ph.D., DirectorCenter for Educational Performance & Information

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.

What is a Cohort Rate ?

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.

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 Michigan’s public schools for a private or parochial school, home school or another state are considered “exempt” and removed from the cohort.

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

1. On-Track Graduate - completed high school with a regular diploma in four years or less.

2. Other Completer - earned a GED or other certificate, or reached special education maximum age.

3. Dropout - left high school permanently during the four year cohort period or whose whereabouts are unknown

4. 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.

The cohort total for a school or district is the

total number of students in these four categories.

Calculating a

Four-Year Cohort

Graduation Rate

A cohort graduation rate is determined by the

formula…

On-Track GraduatesCohort Total

Example #1…Happy Valley Public School District

Totals 2007 Cohort Status

District / Building Name (Code)

First Time 9th Grade in

Fall 2003 (+)Transfer

s In

(-) Transfers

Out & Exempt

2007 Cohort

On Track Graduated

Dropped (Reported &

MER)

Off Track (Grad. & Cont.)

Other Completer (GED, etc.)

Graduation Rate

Happy Valley Public School District (12340) 1,441 344 342 1,443 1,254 103 54 32 86.90%

Aspen High School (12341) 115 33 23 125 120 < 10 < 10 < 10 96.00% Birch High School (12342) 561 124 173 512 462 24 14 12 90.23% Big Oak High School (12343) 737 140 198 679 636 28 < 10 < 10 93.67% Maple Alternative Center (12344) 25 14 18 21 16 < 10 0 0 76.19% Pine High School (12345) < 10 69 5 65 18 21 18 < 10 27.69%

To calculate Happy Valley’s graduation rate, divide the total number of On-Track Graduates

Totals 2007 Cohort Status

District / Building Name (Code)

First Time 9th Grade in

Fall 2003 (+)Transfer

s In

(-) Transfers

Out & Exempt

2007 Cohort

On Track Graduated

Dropped (Reported &

MER)

Off Track (Grad. & Cont.)

Other Completer (GED, etc.)

Graduation Rate

Happy Valley Public School District (12340) 1,441 344 342 1,443 1,254 103 54 32 86.90%

1,254

… by the Cohort Total

1,254

Totals 2007 Cohort Status

District / Building Name (Code)

First Time 9th Grade in

Fall 2003 (+)Transfer

s In

(-) Transfers

Out & Exempt

2007 Cohort

On Track Graduated

Dropped (Reported &

MER)

Off Track (Grad. & Cont.)

Other Completer (GED, etc.)

Graduation Rate

Happy Valley Public School District (12340) 1,441 344 342 1,443 1,254 103 54 32 86.90%

1,443

= 86.90%

Example #2…

Sunnydale Community Schools Totals 2007 Cohort Status

District / Building Name (Code)

First Time 9th Grade

in Fall 2003

(+)Transfers In

(-) Transfers Out & Exempt

2007 Cohort

On Track

Graduated

Dropped (Reported

& MER)

Off Track

(Grad. & Cont.)

Other Completer (GED,

etc.)

Graduation Rate

Sunnydale Community Schools (23450) 163 38 51 150 117 23 10 0 78.00%

Sunnydale High School (23451) 163 28 49 142 117 17 < 10 0 82.39%

Calculating a

Four-Year Cohort

Dropout Rate

Drop out rates are calculated the same way as graduation rates, substituting the number of dropouts in the numerator:

Dropped OutCohort Total

Example #1…Happy Valley Public School District

District/Building Name (Code) Grades & Settings Cohort

Total Total

Dropouts

School or District Grades

Dropout Rate

Happy Valley Public School District (12340)

K-12, Alt, Spec, AE

1,443 103 4 7.14%

Aspen High School (05745) 9-12 125 < 10 4 1.60% Birch High School (05671) 9-12 512 24 4 4.69% Big Oak High School (04882) 9-12 679 28 4 4.12% Maple Alternative Center (06542)

8-12, Alt 21 < 10 4 23.81%

Pine High School (08680) 10-12, Alt, AE 65 21 3 32.31%

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 students with disabilities migrant limited English proficiency

Michigan’s Graduation and Dropout Rates

August 20, 2008