States Move Unevenly Toward Common Graduation-Rate Data

Charleston, S.C.

A year after the nation’s governors pledged to use a common formula to calculate graduation rates, 39 states are compiling the necessary data and are preparing within four years to report the most accurate account yet of high school completion.

But according to a progress report released today at the National Governors Association annual meeting here, several states have a long way to go, and still others are not on board to join the compact.

North Dakota and South Dakota have “no plans” to report their high school graduation rate using the agreed-upon formula, the report concludes. Other states, such as Missouri, aren’t planning to report their new rates until 2012 or later. Governors of all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico, signed the one-page “Graduation Counts Compact” after it was unveiled at last year’s NGA meeting in Iowa. ( "Efforts Seek Better Data on Graduates," ...