Report: 48 states to adopt uniform formula to calculate 2010-2011 high school graduation rates
By the end of 2011, most of the country will be using the same formula to calculate high school graduation rates in school districts across the nation. According to a recent report, "Implementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date, 2010," by the National Governors' Association (NGA), 48 states will calculate their high school graduation rates using the same formula for the Class of 2011. Formally known as the NGA Graduation Counts Compact Formula, the calculation will essentially determine the percentage of incoming freshmen that leave school with a diploma four years later. The graduation rate in these states will be found by dividing the number of students graduating within four years with a diploma by the number of first-time ninth-graders entering high school four years earlier.
The uniformity stems from the NGA Graduation Counts Compact, which is a 2005 agreement by U.S. governors to use the same formula to calculate their states' high school graduation rates. As part of the agreement, according to the NGA, the ideal uniform formula "focuses on: using a common, four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate formula; building state data collection and reporting capacity; developing additional student outcome indicators; and reporting annually on progress toward these commitments."
Officials say the move demonstrated the governors' desire to calculate high school graduation rates in a more meaningful, and effective, manner.
"Governors agreed to use a more consistent and accurate graduation rate formula because they understand that better information on student outcomes is critical for ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college, work and life," said director of the NGA Center John Thomasian via press release. "The 2010 update shows that states are making significant progress toward this end and are expected to continue to do so in 2011."
States were encouraged to adopt a uniform formula again in 2008, when the federal government mandated that states use the formula to calculate their high school graduation rates by the 2011-2012 academic year for inclusion in required No Child Left Behind documentation. The rules also called for the calculation of high school graduation rates at the school, district and state levels. The regulations also opened the door for states to petition for permission to get partial credit in their high school completion rates for students who graduated in five or six years.
The NGA report also found that 21 states currently have their graduation rate goals set for 90 percent or higher. Officials in 49 states report that they now have the equipment necessary to more accurately calculate their high school graduation rates as well as track the progress of individual students.
