Do your eyes glaze over when people start discussing multiple methods of calculating graduation rates? In a report out today, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute dissects what goes into the various methods, how they affect the results, and how this stuff creates static in the substantive debate about how many of our teenagers are earning diplomas.
One of the types of graduation rates it explains is the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (Hey! Are you dozing off? Wake up! This is pertinent to you!). This is the calculation method required by new federal regulations. Everyone’s going to have to use this soon, so getting a primer couldn’t hurt.