Changes to the 2012 Graduation and Dropout Calculations Jessica Noble, Education Program Consultant Kansas State Department of Education September 2012

Topics for Discussion Removal of EXIT code 9 Addition of EXIT code 22 Diploma completion centers and the graduation calculation Annual Measurable Objectives for graduation Upcoming webinars and trainings

Removal of EXIT code 9 EXIT code 9: Completed school with other credentials (e.g., District-Awarded GED) Schools were able to use this EXIT code until the 2012-2013 KIDS system opened in July so there may be students with EXIT code 9 in the Dropout Graduation Summary Report when it opens in October.

Reasons for the Removal of EXIT code 9 Kansas only recognizes regular high school diplomas, so having an EXIT code for “other credentials” was misleading. In order to enroll in a GED program, a student first has to drop out of school, so reporting EXIT code 9 was an unnecessary second step that did not change the student’s graduation status. KSDE does not track GED completions

Which Code Replaces EXIT Code 9? Schools should use EXIT code 19: Transfer to an adult education facility (i.e. for GED completion) when a student transfers to a GED completion program KSDE recognizes that nine districts in the state provide GED completion services in their district, not in an adult education facility. We will change the wording of this EXIT code next year to reflect this.

Addition of EXIT Code 22 EXIT code 22: student with disabilities who met the district graduation requirements for a regular diploma, but is remaining in school to receive transitional services deemed necessary by the IEP team This is a quasi-EXIT code because it will count the student as a graduate in the graduation calculation, but will not actually exit the student so that he/she can continue to receive transition services.

Deciphering EXIT code 22 Student with disabilities who met the district graduation requirements for a regular diploma, but is remaining in school to receive transitional services deemed necessary by the IEP team Student must have a disability Student must meet district graduation req. Student must receive a regular high school diploma Student must be remaining in school for transition services

1. Student must have a disability In order to use EXIT code 22, a primary disability must be reported in field D32 of the KIDS system. D32 is an indication of whether or not the student has an active IEP which documents that the student receives special education services. If a disability is not reported in D32, the EXIT record with a 22 will be rejected as an error.

2. Student must meet district graduation requirements In order to use EXIT code 22, the student must have met the district graduation requirements for a diploma. The student cannot be working to complete district graduation requirements, they must already be completed when the EXIT code is submitted. Remember, that the graduation cohort does not end until September 30th.

3. Student must receive a regular high school diploma A 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. This does not include an alternate graduation plan for students that are not in the regular curriculum

4. Students must be remaining in school for transition services If the student is not remaining in school for transitional services, there is no need to use EXIT code 22. You could simply exit the student with code 8-graduated with regular diploma. If the student is remaining in school to complete his/her diploma requirements, they are not eligible for EXIT code 22.

EXIT Code 22 and Post-Graduation Plans Schools are asked to report the post-secondary intentions of students that are exited with a code 8, 9 or 22. A new value was added to field D29 to be used with EXIT code 22 Value 9 = Receiving Special Education Transition Services

EXIT Code 22 and Subsequent KIDS Records Subsequent KIDS records should be submitted for students exited with code 22, until they are no longer receiving transitional services. Once they are no longer receiving transitional services, another EXIT record should be submitted with EXIT code 8=Graduated with regular diploma so that the student is not an unresolved exit. Since there is now an EXIT code to resolve students in these situations, it will no longer be listed as a remove from cohort reason

Using EXIT Code 22 EXIT records with EXIT/Withdraw dates between 10/1/2011 and 9/30/2012 will be accepted until the DGSR has been submitted. After this report has been submitted, only EXIT records with EXIT/Withdraw dates after 9/30/2012 will be accepted. You should send an EXIT record, with code 22, for any student who met the criteria on or after 10-1-2011 so that he/she will count as a graduate in the DGSR

Using EXIT Code 22 on Students Removed from the Cohort You should send an EXIT record, with code 22, for any fifth-year student who meets the criteria of EXIT code 22. Keep in mind that if you removed this student from the four-year cohort last year, they will not appear in the five-year cohort this year. If you want the student to appear in the cohort as a graduate, you need to send an email to Jessica Noble (after Oct 1) asking to add the student back into the cohort.

Diploma Completion Centers Diploma completion centers are either run by a district or a service center. Students who attend diploma completion centers must be accounted for in the graduation calculation. For a listing of diploma completion centers: http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4361

District-Operated Diploma Completion Centers District-operated diploma completion centers will send records to the KIDS system for any student who enters their program. They assume responsibility for the student in the graduation calculation.

Service Center Operated Diploma Completion Centers Service centers are not schools; they are contractors. They generally do not send records into the KIDS system and cannot issue diplomas and, therefore, cannot be responsible for students in the graduation calculation. Students who attend diploma completion centers will not be eligible to be removed from the cohort.

Who’s Responsible for the Student? The school that will issue the diploma to the student is responsible for the student in the graduation calculation. This school should be sending all appropriate student records (i.e. ENRL, EOYA, EXIT) into the KIDS system with their building number in field D2: AYP/QPA school. If the expectation is for the student to receive a diploma from their original school, then that school should send records into the KIDS system. Their responsibility does not end just because the student is receiving services from a service center. If the diploma will be issued by another school, then that school should send records into the KIDS system.

Goals & Targets for Graduation Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) Four-Year and Five-Year Goal: 80% Four-Year and Five-Year Targets: If rate is 80% or higher, target is 0 If rate is between 50-79%, target is 3% improvement of prior year’s rate If rate is less than 50%, target is 5% improvement of prior year’s rate

AMO Determinations For AMO determinations, Kansas will First look at four-year adjusted cohort If goal or target is met, made AMO If four-year goal or target is not met, look at five-year rate

Dropout Graduation Summary Report (DGSR) The submission window will open Monday, October 1, 2012 and will close at 5pm on Friday, November 2, 2012. Any school that does not review its data and submit the report by November 2 will by default have its data considered as accurate. The DGSR will review 2011-2012 graduation and dropout data Webinars will be held on the DGSR the week of October 1

Resources Graduation information http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4606 Documents to use with stakeholders Fact sheet FAQ PowerPoint presentations Dropout Prevention information www.kansasdropins.org 15 effective dropout prevention strategies

Upcoming Trainings DQC Graduation and Dropout Data Concentration: http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5224 DGSR user training to be held the first week of October. Dates and time to be announced. Later this fall I will provide a webinar on “Finding Graduation and Dropout Statistics”

Jessica Noble, Education Program Consultant Contact Information Jessica Noble, Education Program Consultant 785-296-3163 jnoble@ksde.org