1. March 29, 2011

2. Agenda
Section A: The Four Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
Section B: Graduation Rate Goals and Targets
Section C: Reporting
Section D: Graduation Rate in AYP Determinations
Section E: Accountability Workbook
Section F: Timelines

3. PRIOR TO THIS YEAR
• In previous years, the Arkansas Department of Education has
reported and published, in various reports and formats, a
graduation rate, also known as the completion rate.
• The computation of completion rate was a four-year model that
tracked student enrollment by cohort groups, beginning with a
ninth grade cohort and following their progress through
Grade 12. Students who dropped out and subsequently
completed the GED program were counted as drop outs and
were not counted as high school graduates (See Accountability
Workbook: Critical Element: 7.1)

4. Summary

5. The Rationale for a Uniform
Graduation Rate
• Establishing a uniform and accurate measure of
the high school graduation rate that is
comparable across States is a critical step toward
improving high school accountability.
• An adjusted cohort graduation rate will improve
our understanding of the characteristics of the
population of students who do not earn regular
high school diplomas or who take longer than
four years to graduate.

6. Definitions
Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate
definition

7. Regular High School Diploma
• “Regular high school diploma” means the
standard high school diploma awarded to
students in a State that is fully aligned with the
State’s academic content standards and does not
include a GED credential, certificate of
attendance, or any alternative award.
• The term “regular high school diploma” also
includes a “higher diploma” that is awarded to
students who complete requirements above and
beyond what is required for a regular diploma.

8. What is the Four- Year Adjusted Cohort?
• The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is the number of
students who graduate in four years with a regular high school
diploma divided by the number of students who form the
adjusted cohort for the graduating class.
• From the beginning of 9th grade, students who are entering that
grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently
“adjusted” by adding any students who transfer into the cohort
later during the 9th grade and the next three years and
subtracting any students who transfer out, emigrate to another
country, or die during that same period.

9. A-1 Four Year Adjusted Cohort
Calculation
The following formula provides an example of the four-year
graduation rate for the cohort entering 9th grade for the first time in
the fall of the 2008-2009 school year and graduating by the end of
the 2011-2012 school year.
Number of cohort members who earned a regular high
school diploma by the end of the 2011- 2012 school year
Number of first-time 9th graders in fall 2008 (starting
cohort) plus students who transfer in, minus students who
transfer out, emigrate, or die during school years 2008-
2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012

10. Legal Requirements
• State law requires the Arkansas Department of Education to
publish the Annual School Performance Report, also known as
the Annual School Report Card.
• The law also calls for the ADE to publish data for a three-year
period for a variety of areas; one of which is the state’s
graduation rate.
• The graduation rate published in the 2011 Arkansas School
Performance Report reflects the completion rate for
2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The rate reported for the
2009-2010 school year is an “adjusted” four-year cohort
graduation rate.

11. Questions: Four-year adjusted
cohort graduation rate definition

12. A-4
Why must States base the four-year graduation
rate on “first-time in 9th grade” cohorts?
Cohort-based graduation rates are accurate only if each student
is assigned to a single cohort. For example, without a single
cohort assignment, a student who repeated 9th grade might be
included in two separate cohorts of 9th graders.
Unless the student skipped a grade later in high school or caught
up with the original cohort, that student would not graduate
within four years of starting 9th grade. Therefore, to ensure an
accurate measure of a four-year graduation rate, the cohort
must be based only on students who are first-time 9th graders.

13. A-5
Does the four-year graduation rate include a
student who graduates from high school in less
than four years?
Yes. The four-year graduation rate counts a student who graduates
with a regular high school diploma in four years or less as a high
school graduate in his or her original cohort—that is, the cohort
with which he or she started 9th grade.
The student may be included only in the graduation rate calculated
for the cohort of students who started 9th grade. Thus, the
numerator in the graduation rate calculation includes only
members of the cohort that graduate in a particular year, not other
students who may also graduate that year.

14. A-6
May the four-year graduation rate include
students who graduate in the summer after
their fourth year of high school?
• A State may, but is not required to, include students who
graduate in the summer after their fourth year of high school
among the cohort members who graduate in four years.
However, the inclusion of such students in the four-year
graduation rate may not delay annual AYP determinations.
• In order not to delay those determinations, a State that includes
summer school graduates typically “lags” graduation rates for
AYP determinations.

15. A-12. How is a student with a disability who has
an (IEP) that includes a plan to complete
graduation requirements in more than four years
included?
• Only students who graduate with a regular high school diploma in
four years or less may be included in the numerator of the four-year
graduation rate. Thus, a student who takes more than four years to
graduate, regardless of the reason, must be included in the adjusted
cohort for the four-year graduation rate (the denominator) but may
not be counted as a graduate (the numerator) when calculating the
four-year graduation rate.
• A student with a disability who does not graduate with a regular
high school diploma, may not be counted as graduating in calculating
either the four-year or extended-year graduation rate.

16. Adjusting a cohort: Page 9

17. Adjusting a cohort: Page 9
• A-18. How is a cohort “adjusted”?
• A-19. Which students may be “removed from a cohort”?
• A-20. What is the definition of a “transfer”?
• A-21. When a student transfers into a school, to which cohort
should a school or LEA assign the student?
• A-22. If a student re-enrolls in a public high school after
having dropped out of school for a period of time, how may a
school or LEA count that student in the four-year or extended-
year graduation rate?

18. Adjusting a cohort: Page 9
• A-23. May a school or LEA consider a student to be a transfer
if the student leaves a public high school and enrolls in a
private school?
• A-24. May a school or LEA consider a student to be a transfer
if the student leaves a public high school to be home
schooled?
• A-25. May a school or LEA consider a student to be a transfer
if the student leaves a public high school and enrolls in
another educational program?
• A-26. Why is written confirmation required before a student
may be removed from a cohort?

19. A-18. How is a cohort “adjusted”?
• The four-year graduation rate follows a cohort, or a
group of students, who begin as first-time 9th graders
in a particular school year and who graduate with a
regular high school diploma in four years or less.
• An extended-year graduation rate follows the same
cohort of students for an additional year or years. The
cohort is “adjusted” by adding any students
transferring into the cohort and by subtracting any
students

20. A-19. Which students may be
“removed from a cohort”?
Only a student who transfers out and enrolls in another
school or in an educational program that culminates in the
award of a regular high school diploma, emigrates to
another country, or dies may be removed from a high
school’s or LEA’s cohort.9
Before removing a student from a cohort, a school or LEA
must obtain confirmation in writing that the student
transferred out, emigrated, or is deceased. No other
students may be removed from the cohort.

21. A-26. Why is written confirmation required
before a student may be removed from a
cohort?
• It is critical for a school or LEA to have written confirmation that a
student has transferred, emigrated to another country, or died
before a student is removed from a cohort. Written documentation
facilitates audits and, thus, will help ensure that States, LEAs, and
schools have an accurate measure of graduation rate.
• Unless a school or LEA can confirm in writing that a student has
transferred out, emigrated to another country, or is deceased, the
school or LEA must consider that student to be in the adjusted
cohort for purposes of calculating the four-year or extended-year
graduation rate.

22. A-27
Documentation
• It is critical for a school or LEA to have written confirmation that a
student has transferred, emigrated to another country, or died
before a student is removed from a cohort.
• Written documentation facilitates audits and, thus, will help
ensure that States, LEAs, and schools have an accurate measure of
graduation rate.
• Unless a school or LEA can confirm in writing that a student has
transferred out, emigrated to another country, or is deceased, the
school or LEA must consider that student to be in the adjusted
cohort for purposes of calculating the graduation rate.

23. A-32. If, after multiple attempts, an LEA cannot
obtain official written documentation that a
student has transferred out, may the LEA
remove the student from the cohort?
No. Although in some cases it may be difficult for an LEA
to obtain official written documentation of a student’s
transfer, the student may not be removed from the
cohort simply because the student’s status cannot be
documented.

24. Section B
GOAL AND ANNUAL TARGETS: Page 14

25. Goal and Annual Targets
• Additionally, the ADE established annual graduation rate
targets that reflect continuous and substantial improvement
from the prior year toward meeting or exceeding the State’s
graduation rate goal as required in 34 C.F.R.
§200.19(b)(3)(i)(B) of NCLB.
• The Annual target established for Arkansas is a graduation
rate of 70%. This is effective for 2011 AYP determinations. In
order to meet AYP for the secondary indicator, high schools
and LEAs may meet the graduation rate by either meeting (or
exceeding) the State’s goal or meeting (or exceeding) the
annual graduation rate target.

26. B-2.
When is a State required to set a graduation
rate goal and annual targets that meet the
requirements in the 2008 Title I regulations?
• Beginning with AYP determinations based on school year
2009-2010 assessment results, a State must have a single goal
and annual targets that meet the criteria in 34 C.F.R.
§200.19(b)(3)(i), regardless of whether the State is using the
four-year graduation rate or a transitional graduation rate.
•
A State may amend its Accountability Workbook to change its
goal and targets once it begins using the four-year graduation
rate for reporting and AYP determinations

27. Graduation rate goal
• B-3. Must a State set the same graduation
rate goal for all high schools?
Yes. As required in 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(3)(i)(A), each State must
set a single graduation rate goal that represents the graduation
rate it expects all high schools in the State to meet. Moreover, if
a State chooses to implement an extended-year graduation rate,
the goal for this rate must be the same as the rate for the four-
year graduation rate.

28. B-4. Is a State required to use a specific process
or method to determine its graduation rate
goal?
• No. There is no specific process or method that a State must
use to establish its graduation rate goal.
• Additionally, the State’s graduation rate goal need not be 100
percent because the Department recognizes that not all
students graduate with a regular high school diploma.
However, because all but a small percentage of students can
and should graduate with a regular diploma on time, the
Department expects each State to establish a rigorous
graduation rate goal.

29. Annual graduation rate targets
B-5. In addition to establishing a graduation rate goal,
must a State establish annual graduation rate targets?
Yes. A State must establish annual graduation rate targets that
reflect continuous and substantial improvement from the prior
year toward meeting or exceeding the State’s graduation rate goal
(34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(3)(i)(B)).10 High schools and LEAs may meet
the other academic indicator (i.e., graduation rate) by either
meeting (or exceeding) the State’s goal or meeting (or exceeding)
the annual graduation rate targets.

30. Section C
REPORTING : Page 18

31. C-1. When are States and LEAs required to
report the four-year graduation rate?
• Under 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(4)(ii)(A), a State and its LEAs
must report the four-year graduation rate on report
cards providing assessment results for the 2010-2011
school year.12
• For report cards providing assessment results for the
2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, States and
LEAs may report either a transitional graduation rate or
the four-year graduation rate (34 C.F.R.
§200.19(b)(4)(ii)(C)).

32. C-1. When are States and LEAs required to
report the four-year graduation rate?
Under 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(4)(ii)(A), a State and its
LEAs must report the four-year graduation rate on
report cards providing assessment results for the
2010-2011 school year.12
For report cards providing
assessment results for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010
school years, States and LEAs may report either a
transitional graduation rate or the four-year graduation
rate (34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(4)(ii)(C)).

33. C-3: P.18
When must a State begin to use the four-year
graduation rate in AYP determinations?
Unless a State receives approval for an extension from
the Secretary, the State must include the four-year
graduation rate in AYP determinations beginning with
determinations based on the assessments administered
in the 2011-2012 school year.
However, States should begin using the four-year
graduation rate in AYP determinations as soon as they are
able.

34. C-5. Where must States and LEAs report
graduation rate?
• States and LEAs must report graduation rate data, in the
aggregate and disaggregated by subgroups, on their annual report
cards. In addition, States must submit aggregated and
disaggregated graduation rates to EDFacts, the centralized portal
through which States submit their education data to the
Department (OMB collection 1810-0614). These data will be used
to generate the Consolidated State Performance Report
information on graduation rates.

35. Section D
GRADUATION RATE IN ACCOUNTABILITY
DETERMINATIONS: Page 20

36. D-1.
When must a State begin to use the four-year
graduation rate in AYP Determinations?
• Unless a State receives approval for an extension from
the Secretary, the State must include the four-year
graduation rate in AYP determinations beginning with
determinations based on the assessments administered
in the 2011-2012 school year (34 C.F.R.
§200.19(b)(5)(i)).
• However, States should begin using the four-year
graduation rate in AYP determinations as soon as they
are able.

37. D-3.
May a State “lag” its graduation rate data to
include summer graduates in its graduation rate?
• Yes. As explained in question A-6, a State may lag its graduation
rate data in order to include summer graduates in AYP
determinations.
• Using lagged graduation rate data in AYP determinations means
that the four-year graduation data from the previous academic
year will be used in AYP determinations with the assessment
results and participation rate for the current academic year.
Lagging data is permitted for both the four-year and extended-
year graduation rates.

38. D-6.
When must a State include disaggregated
graduation rates in AYP determinations?
A State must include disaggregated graduation rates in
AYP determinations beginning with determinations
based on assessments administered in the 2011-2012
school year (34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(5)(i)).

39. D-9.
Must States disaggregate graduation rate data
for the “other academic indicator” used in
making AYP determinations?
• Yes. The regulations require disaggregation of graduation rate
data for the same subgroups that are used to determine whether
students in various subgroups have achieved proficiency.
• The subgroups for which graduation rate data must be
disaggregated are the following: economically disadvantaged
students; students from major racial and ethnic groups; students
with disabilities, as defined in section 9101(5) of the ESEA; and
LEP students, as defined in section 9101(25) of the ESEA.

40. Section E
ACCOUNTABILITY WORKBOOK: Page 26

41. E-1.
Must a State revise its Accountability
Workbook to address the graduation rate
requirements in the 2008 Title I regulations?
Yes. Each State must submit a revised
Accountability Workbook to the Department for
technical assistance and peer review (34 C.F.R.
§200.19(b)(6)(ii)).

42. E-2.
What information must a State include in its
revised Accountability Workbook?
• A description of the progress the State is making toward
meeting the deadline for calculating and reporting the
four-year graduation rate.
• An explanation of how the State’s graduation rate goal
represents the rate the State expects all high schools in
the State to meet and how the State’s annual targets
demonstrate continuous and substantial improvement
from the prior year toward meeting or exceeding the
State’s goal.

43. E-2.
What information must a State include in its
revised Accountability Workbook?
• The graduation rate for the most recent school year of
the high school at the 10th percentile, the 50th
percentile, and the 90th percentile in the State, ranked in
terms of graduation rate.
• If the State intends to use an extended-year graduation
rate in AYP determinations, a description of how it will
use that rate with its four-year graduation rate to
determine whether its schools and LEAs have made AYP.

44. Accountability Workbook Revisions
(Policies)
• Graduation Rate
• Reconfigured Schools Definitions
• Smart Accountability
• Minimum Group Size for Graduation
• Timeline

45. SECTION F.
TIMELINE AND EXTENSION

46. F-5. What are the consequences for a State that
does not meet the 2010-2011 deadline?
• Any State that does not meet the 2010-2011 deadline for
reporting the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and that
did not submit a request for an extension by March 2, 2009 and
have its request granted by the Secretary will be out of compliance
with the regulations.
• As such, the Secretary has the discretion to take appropriate
action, including, but not limited to, the following: placing a
condition on a State’s Title I, Part A grant award; requiring the
State to enter into a compliance agreement with the Department;
or withholding Title I, Part A State administration funds.

47. Report Card
• The new four-year adjusted cohort graduation
rate has been placed in the 2010 Pre-Publication
Performance Report on NORMES.

48. Federal Requirements
• Consistent with instructions from the United States
Department of Education staff in the Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education, Arkansas must report the graduation
rate on the Report Card starting in 2010-2011 and also
disaggregate the data. We will use the Four-Year Adjusted
Cohort Rate Graduation Rate for AYP decisions next year
based on the 2011-2012 assessment
results(http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/hsgrgui
dance.pdf pages 19 and 28).

49. Contact Information
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Charity Smith, Assistant Commissioner
Division of Academic Accountability
Arkansas Department of Education
501.682.1298
charity.smith@arkansas.gov