The US DOE plans to publish high school graduation rates for each state using a common metric:
The department will calculate each state’s graduation rate based on the number of high school graduates in a given year divided by the average of the number of students who entered the 8th grade five years earlier, the 9th grade four years earlier, and the 10th grade three years earlier. The so-called “averaged freshman graduation rate” will be published alongside the graduation rates that states report under the federal No Child Left Behind Act...States have come under increasing criticism in recent years for publishing graduation rates that are misleading and not comparable across states. Some states, for example, calculate their graduation figures based on the percentage of seniors who earn their diplomas by the end of the school year—a measure that ignores students who drop out before reaching the 12th grade.
I'm sure there will be squabbling about the metric chosen by the Feds, especially in those states where the published rate goes down. At the very least, though, we'll be comparing apples to apples now.
Posted by kswygert at July 20, 2005 08:34 AM