School & District Management

States’ Graduation-Rate Effort Inches Forward

By Scott J. Cech — July 30, 2008 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Three years after the National Governors Association announced that all 50 members had agreed to standardize their states’ graduation-rate formulas, the group is only marginally closer to its goal of a truly national definition of high school graduation rates, according to NGA data released late last month.

The Washington-based organization’s latest progress report finds that only 16 states currently calculate and publicly report a graduation rate consistent with the formula agreed to in 2005 in the NGA’s Graduation Counts Compact.

That’s just three more states than reported their graduation rates according to that formula in 2006, when the last progress report was released.

Despite their governors’ signatures, three states—Hawaii, Illinois, and North Dakota—have no plans to adopt the graduation-calculation standard, according to the report, “Implementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date, 2008.”

The NGA formula is particularly significant, given rule changes proposed by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings this past April. The proposed rules, which specifically mention the NGA formula as a model, would “ensure that all states use the same formula to calculate how many students graduate from high school on time,” Ms. Spellings said in remarks in April.

Daria L. Hall, the assistant director for K-12 policy at the Education Trust, a Washington-based research and advocacy group that seeks to improve the education of low-income and minority students, called the NGA’s progress report “encouraging progress.” But she voiced disappointment that some states have effectively withdrawn from their 2005 commitment to the compact.

“That is a real problem,” Ms. Hall said. “This is a commitment that the governors made, and we now see the states walking away from that commitment.”

Simple Formula

The formula outlined in the voluntary compact calls for states to determine their high school graduation rates by dividing the number of students who graduate within four years with a diploma by the number of first-time, entering 9th graders four years earlier.

Idaho does not have a timeline for acquiring the necessary data to use the formula, and Montana plans to adopt the graduation formula at some unspecified time. Aside from those states and the three that don’t plan to participate, all others expect to be using the formula by 2012, according to the report.

The formula allows the calculation to be adjusted to take transfers into account, and permits special education students and recent immigrants with limited English skills more time to graduate.

Given the logistical challenges of setting up a statewide data system to track individual students over time—one of the requirements of the compact—“I think it’s not surprising that we ... encounter some bumps along the way,” said Bridget K. Curran, the National Governors Association’s program director of teacher quality, graduation rates, and compensation.

“By and large, states are on track implementing this as they said they were going to,” she added. “By the end of this year, we’ll be ... close to half [the states], which is a good critical mass.”

Some Doubts

Not everyone, however, is so sanguine about the progress.

“We appreciate NGA’s goal of 50-state compliance with a common high school grad rate,” said Elissa Leonard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education, in an e-mail. “Given that only 16 states currently are calculating the rate, we hope that states move more quickly to implement a common cohort rate.”

The proposed federal rules don’t specify what the graduation formula will be—only that it will be “consistent with the definition adopted by the National Governors Association.” Ms. Leonard said the Education Department is still on track to publish the final rules on Nov. 1, and to have them become effective one month later.

Ms. Hall of the Education Trust indicated that even if a few states continue to stay only nominal signatories to the compact, their reluctance to follow through might soon be moot.

“Fortunately we have every reason to be believe that there will be the weight of federal regulation behind ... this more accurate calculation,” she said.

A version of this article appeared in the August 13, 2008 edition of Education Week as States Inch Forward on Graduation Rate Standard

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Empowering Students Using Computational Thinking Skills
Empower your students with computational thinking. Learn how to integrate these skills into your teaching and boost student engagement.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
IT Infrastructure & Management Webinar
The Reality of Change: How Embracing and Planning for Change Can Shape Your Edtech Strategy
Promethean edtech experts delve into the reality of tech change and explore how embracing and planning for it can be your most powerful strategy for maximizing ROI.
Content provided by Promethean
Reading & Literacy K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction Across Content Disciplines
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts implementing innovative strategies in reading across different subjects.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management The Top 10 Things That Keep Principals Up at Night
Principals’ jobs are hard, but what are their most common concerns? We asked, principals answered.
5 min read
School & District Management Superintendents Wrapped: The Songs District Leaders Listened to This Year
Five brave superintendents shared their top songs and artists from the past year with Education Week.
1 min read
A bright blue and pink background with a hand holding a phone with the spotify logo. A pair of headphones frames the cellphone.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Canva
School & District Management Opinion I Invited Students to Help Hire a New Assistant Principal. Here’s What Happened
What began as an opportunity for the students turned into a gift for our administrative team.
3 min read
Centering students in the school community.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Opinion 5 Education Leadership Lessons From Chef Ina Garten
"Less is more," "quality is everything," and more tips inspired by the art of cooking to build trust, connection in your school community.
4 min read
Screen Shot 2024 11 29 at 1.11.40 PM
Canva