1. How the Graduation Rate Is Calculated
Dr. Cathy McNeal
Director, Assessment and Accountability
December 15, 2016

2. Alabama Has Multiple Categories in the Cohort Graduation Rate
Graduate
Alabama High School Diploma
Alabama High School Diploma with Advanced Endorsement
Alabama High School Diploma with Career Tech Endorsement
Alabama High School Diploma with Advanced Career Tech Endorsement
Alabama High School Diploma with Advanced Academic and Advanced Career Tech Endorsements

3. Alabama Identifies Multiple Categories in the Cohort Non-Graduation Rate
Non-Graduate
Exited with a document other than a diploma
Special Education – Graduation Certificate
Alabama Occupational Diploma
Exited with a document other than a diploma – GED
Retained in 12th Grade (Special education ONLY)
Failed to complete all credit requirements

4. Graduation Rate Cohort Window Is Edited in the ALSDE Application Portal
Graduation Cohort Summary
Graduates
Completers
Still Enrolled
Dropouts
Withdrawn (still in cohort)
Missing Records
No Shows
Missing records and no shows were not found anywhere in the state

5. Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
The formula is the percentage of students who entered ninth grade and graduated within four years.
The formula equates to the number of on-time graduates in a given year divided by the number of entering first-time ninth graders four years earlier, adjusting for transfers in and out.
Students are tracked individually from the time they start ninth grade.

6. Five-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
To determine the Four-Year Graduation Rate
Use the to data
Review the current status of students identified as -
Still Enrolled
No Show
Withdrawn (Still in Cohort)
Missing Records
Dropouts
Go through the four-year process to determine if the status of these students changed for the Five-Year Cohort Graduation rate.

7. ALSDE Requirements to Edit the Graduation Rate Functional

8. Editing Categories For Making Cohort Changes Requires Documentation
Category
Need
Documents
Cohort Status
Move to Graduate or Completer Status
YES
Remain in Current School Cohort
Move to Withdrawn-Out of Cohort Status – Moved Out of State or Country or to a Private School or Private Tutor
Remove From State Cohort
Move to Withdrawn-Still in Cohort Status – Went to Another Public School in Alabama
Remove from School Cohort but Add to Another School Cohort
Move to Withdrawn Status – Location Unknown
Move to Dropout Status
Move to Foreign Exchange Status
Remove from State Cohort
Duplicate Student Record
Merge Records in Cohort
Still Actively Enrolled in School
Incarceration: Enrolled in Program that Culminates in Diploma
Removed from State Cohort
Incarceration: Enrolled in program that Does NOT Culminate in a Diploma
Remains in School Cohort
Switch Cohort Year
Moved to Appropriate Cohort - * Note if in Alabama School in 8th & 9th Grade – Cohort Stands

9. Glossary of Terms Used in the Graduation Application
Still Enrolled (Non- Graduates)
Students who do not complete all requirement for graduation within a four-year cohort period but who remain enrolled in school working toward completion of requirement or who remain enrolled as a special education student served until the age of 21.
Withdrawn (Still in your Cohort – Non-Graduates)
Student is withdrawn but records are not requested or sent to transfer school. School does not have documentation to support that the student transferred.
No Show (Non-Graduates)
Student leaves over the summer and never returns to complete an official transfer or drop-out form.

10. A Dropout is a Non-Graduate and Counts Against the School’s Graduation Rate
Dropouts (Non-Graduates)
According to the Common core of Data (CCD) definition, a dropout is an individual who
Was enrolled in school at sometime during the previous school year;
Was not enrolled at the beginning of the current school year;
Has NOT graduated from high school or completed a state- or system-approved education program;
And does not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions:
Transfer to another public school district, private school, or state- or district approved education program;
Temporary absence due to suspension or school-approved illness; or
Death

11. Glossary of Terms Used in the Graduation Application
Completers (Non-Graduates)
Student who exited with a document other than a regular diploma such as a GED, Alabama Occupational Diploma or Special Education Certificate.
Graduate
A student who completes all requirements for a state approved regular diploma.
Switch Cohort Year
A student who was a first-time 9th grader in a year other than

12. Certain Withdrawn Students Do Not Count Against a School’s Graduation Rate
Withdrawn (Out of Cohort)
Student is withdrawn, moved out of state or country, to a private school, private tutor, Online School and records are requested or sent to the transfer school.
Withdrawn (Transfer within State)
Student is withdrawn to another public school in the state of Alabama.