Graduation CohortGraduation Cohort Tony PrattTony Pratt Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Data and ResearchDeputy Assistant Commissioner, Data and Research

Agenda  Looking Ahead: Process, Accountability and Reporting  Federal guidelines  Walkthrough of Cohort Application  Questions 2

Looking Ahead – Process  We are committed to finding ways to improve the process We will be seeking feedback from districts on how to streamline the documentation/appeals process We want to finalize graduation rate earlier than October  Appeals: more information in May We will provide details and plan a support webinar for district personnel  LEA enrollment practices We have heard this feedback and are exploring ways to address via policy changes with State Board of Education and the Commissioner 3

Looking Ahead – Accountability  ESEA waiver renewal application was submitted on March 31 Includes proposed updates to district accountability  Multiple pathways to meet goals for each measure Proposed High School Measures 4 High School Math High School RLA ACT Graduation Rate

Looking Ahead… Accountability Achievement – Graduation Rate for All Students 5 AMOs (with confidence intervals) Relative performance Higher score used

Looking Ahead… Accountability Gap Closure – Graduation Rate for Subgroups (BHN, ED, ELL, SWD) 6 Subgroup AMOs (with confidence intervals) Reduction in Dropout Rates Higher score used

Looking Ahead – Reporting  Beginning with the school year, we plan to report a 5-year graduation rate on the Report Card  Special Education – Potentially excluding “medically fragile” students from graduation cohort calculation (for accountability only) in waiver 7

Federal Requirements  ESEA requires that we calculate a 4-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate  Must be used for reporting and accountability  Guidance is very prescriptive Link 8

Federal Definition “As defined in 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(1)(i)-(iv), the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (hereafter referred to as “the four-year 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.” The cohort is “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

Federal Definition – Calculation Cohort members who earn a regular high school diploma within four years 9 th graders entering the cohort (plus students who transfer in and are added to the cohort, minus students who are removed from the cohort) 10

Federal Requirements – Which Students Count as Graduates?  Students who graduate in less than 4 years  Students who graduate in 4 years  Students who graduate in 4 years plus a summer (state option) AND  Receive a regular diploma GEDs, modified/alternative diplomas, certificates of attendance do not count 11

Federal Requirements – Adjusting the Cohort A student may only be removed from a school or district’s cohort for the following reasons:  Transfers out AND enrolls at another school/program that awards regular diplomas  Moves out of state or out of the country  Is deceased 12

Federal Requirements – Documentation  The federal guidance is very prescriptive about what constitutes acceptable documentation for removing a student from a school or district’s cohort.  All students who are removed from a school or district’s cohort must have accompanying documentation that meets the standards laid out in the federal guidance. 13

Graduation Cohort Timeline 14 Phase I Feb June 30 (Fall/Spring Graduates) During Phase I districts may make EIS-related corrections and upload supporting documentation for approved withdrawal codes. Phase II July 31 – Aug. 14 (Summer Graduates) Phase II is the only time summer graduation completion types will be accepted. Phase III Sept Preliminary graduation rates will be published in the cohort application on Sept. 1 for districts to review and, in select cases, submit an appeal. Phase IV Oct. 12 The department will release final graduation rates on Oct. 12, 2015.

Priorities for Phase 1  Ensure that EIS corrections are made by June 30 Duplicate students Correct withdrawal codes  Upload supporting documentation for withdrawal codes requiring documentation 15

16 News Phase I of the graduation rate process has commenced. Below are important instructions, announcements, and resources (e.g., guidance documents, non-public school list). Phase I: Feb June 30 (Fall/Spring Graduates) During Phase I districts may make EIS-related corrections and upload supporting documentation for the withdrawal codes listed below. Additional corrections and/or documentation will not be accepted after the June 30 deadline. The “ Graduation Rate Process” document, which is available at the bottom of this page, includes all cohort-related deadlines and requirements. Consistent with 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(1)(ii)(B)(1), supporting documentation is required for students who withdrew in the , , and school years for reasons relevant to the following withdrawal codes: W02 - Withdrawn to a state institution W05 - Transferred out of state W06 - Transferred to non-public school in Tennessee W08 - Deceased W09 - Transferred to mental or drug rehabilitation institution. (This withdrawal code is no longer in use but was previously used to withdraw students.) W10 - Withdrawn to home school W17(New) - Transferred to an out-of-state online school. To download the district’s cohort data, please do the following: Go to the Cohort Data page. Click on the "Show Data" button. After the data has been retrieved, click on the "download csv" link. Save the file to your computer.

17 Instructions If you have questions or need assistance during the process, please Please be sure to include your name and phone number along with your LEA name. If you have questions regarding an individual student, be sure to include the student’s state ID. For security reasons, do not send s containing personally identifiable student information. Webinar Recording held on February 19, 2013 (Please refer to the guidance documents below for SY updates.) View Webinar Recording Cohort Application Graduation Rate Process (Revised 2/9/15) Non-Public School list (Revised 1/16/15) DCS Approved School List (Revised 1/13/15) Withdrawal Code Guidance (Revised 2/9/15) Cohort Document Review Guidance (Revised 2/9/15) 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(1)(ii)(B)(1) - Federal Law related to the graduation rate US Ed Guidance Graduation Rate Process Non-Public School list DCS Approved School List Withdrawal Code Guidance Cohort Document Review Guidance 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(1)(ii)(B)(1) - Federal Law related to the graduation rate US Ed Guidance

Withdrawal Code Guidance 18

Withdrawal Code Guidance (cont’d) 19

Withdrawal Code Guidance (cont’d) 20

Guidance for Cohort Documentation Review 21

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23 Cohort Application Coding Y = Included in CohortRevised Included in Cohort = Yes or No P= Pending (codes 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 17)(after final determination) Red = Student scheduled to count as dropout (codes 00, 01, 03, 04, 11, and 14)

24 Cohort Reports  Progression Report: provides a list of students who are enrolled but are not on track to graduate based on the cohort year and the last enrolled grade Progression Report  Completion Report: provides a summary of completion types and counts Completion Report  Withdrawal Report: provides a count of student withdrawals by withdrawal code Withdrawal Report  Demographics Report: provides student subgroup data Demographics Report  Dropout Report: provides a list of students scheduled to count as dropouts (codes 03, 04, 14 included due to lack of subsequent enrollment) Dropout Report  Credits Earned Report: provides a count of the credits the department has received as of the last processing date Credits Earned  Withdrawal Completion Mismatch Report: provides a list of students who have been withdrawn via codes 00, 01, 02, 05, 06, 08, 10, and 17 and have a completion document (indicating receipt of a regular diploma) Withdrawal Completion Mismatch

As a reminder… We are partners in this work.  We are committed to finding ways to improve the process and understand that it is not optimal.  Appeals: more information coming in May with support via webinar.  LEA enrollment practices may have to be addressed via policy to provide the right incentives. 25

Process or Policy Questions? For situation-specific (individual students and/or schools) questions or questions we aren’t able to address today, please 26