Special Report
College & Workforce Readiness

How Does the EPE Research Center Calculate Graduation Rates?

June 03, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Diplomas Count uses the Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI) method to calculate high school graduation rates for American public schools. This approach allows the EPE Research Center to compute the percent of public high school students who graduate on time with a diploma.

The CPI method represents the high school experience as a process rather than an event, capturing the four key steps a student must take in order to graduate: three grade-to-grade promotions (9 to 10, 10 to 11, and 11 to 12) and ultimately earning a diploma (grade 12 to graduation). Each of these individual components corresponds to a grade-promotion ratio. Multiplying these four grade-specific promotion ratios together produces the graduation rate.

Different methods for calculating a graduation rate may employ different definitions of a “graduate.” The CPI method adheres to the guidelines established under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, by counting only students receiving standard high school diplomas as graduates. Recipients of General Educational Development diplomas, certificates of attendance, and other nondiploma credentials are treated as nongraduates in this context. States are likewise mandated to adopt a similar definition of a graduate for the rates they calculate for adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the federal law (although they may adopt different definitions for other purposes).

The 2010 edition of Diplomas Count presents a new analysis of graduation rates for the high school class of 2007, the most recent year for which information is available. Data for 2007 and prior years were obtained from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (CCD). The CCD, an annual census of all public schools and school districts in the country, also provided the data on district characteristics used in this report’s analyses of expected graduation rates.

The District of Columbia, Kentucky, and Oregon did not report 2006-07 diploma counts for student subgroups to the CCD. The EPE Research Center was able to obtain additional graduation data directly from the state education agencies of Kentucky and Oregon.

The EPE Research Center calculates graduation rates for all school districts in the country that issue diplomas (that is to say, those with a 12th grade). Statistics for the nation and states are generated by aggregating district-level data upward.

Related Tags:

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
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
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

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

College & Workforce Readiness Q&A How Schools and Businesses Can Work Better Together
Businesses and schools often don't understand each other's needs.
5 min read
Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on April 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on Apr. 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
College & Workforce Readiness Colleges Will Give a Leg Up to Students Who Demonstrate Civility
A new program allows students to build a "civility transcript" for college through peer debates.
5 min read
Word bubbles of different sizes and abstract content arranged in a grid like pattern.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion How One Organization Is Helping Grads Find Jobs
For students to succeed in school and careers, we need a new playbook.
6 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A How This Schooling Model Puts Career Preparation First
The president of the National Career Academy Coalition talks about matching potential careers with local economic needs.
4 min read
Fourth graders Kysen Dull, left, and Kyree Davie try out some masonry work as they put a brick in place with help from Owensboro High School masonry students during Career Day at Cravens Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2024.
Fourth graders Kysen Dull, left, and Kyree Davie try out some masonry work as they put a brick in place with help from Owensboro High School masonry students during Career Day at Cravens Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2024. Putting on Career Day events is one way students can be exposed to career options at an early age.
Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP