Because you asked
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 02:11 p.m., March 4, 2008
Updated 02:11 p.m., March 4, 2008
Q How does the Emporia High School graduation rate compare with the statewide graduation rate?
A “The district graduation rate for 2006 was 84.3 percent and the state rate was 89.7,” said Nancy Horst, community relations director for the school district.
The State of Kansas and school districts across the state use the same formula to reach graduation rate percentages. Horst said that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 affects the way graduation rates are determined. The federal government’s definition of graduation rate makes graduation statistics consistent from state to state, she said.
Students who have been retained or who have “non-regular diplomas,” such as a GED, cannot be counted as regular graduates, according to NCLB, Horst said.
The steps to determine the graduation rate, using the 2006 formula from NCLB, are listed in the instructions below:
1. Subtract the total number of students retained or holding “non-regular diplomas” from the total number of graduates.
2. Add the following categories together to get a total: graduates, 2006 grade 12 dropouts, 2005 grade 11 dropouts, 2004 grade 10 dropouts, 2003 grade 9 dropouts.
3. Divide the total from No. 1 by the total from No. 2 to determine the graduation rate.
A sample problem:
1. A total of 800 students graduated from high school. Ten students dropped out and 10 others obtained GEDs. 800 minus 10 equals 790, minus 10 equals 780.
2. A total of 800 students graduated from high school; there were 10 dropouts in each of the four years of high school for a total of 40. Add 800 plus 40 to get 840.
3. Divide 780 (the total in part 1) by 840 (the total in part 2) to determine the graduation rate: 92.8 percent.
(The NCLB allowed for a one-time adjustment in the 2003 graduation formula because of a bias it created against the schools.)
Graduation rate and dropout rate are defined differently.
“The dropout rate reflects the number or percentage of students who attended classes last year but did not return this year, and we have no information that they have enrolled in another school,” Horst said.
“It’s just a one-year snapshot, while the graduation rate is a four-year snapshot of the cohort group that began with us as freshmen.”