FOUR-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUATION RATE CALCULATION ———— PROCESSES AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

1. FOUR-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUATION RATE CALCULATION————PROCESSES AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION SCDE Office Data Management & Analysis

2. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Changes for 2011 Report Card Coordinators, As discussed in the email to districts, based on dialogue with the Testing and Accountability Roundtable the Department is making changes to the procedures related to the Graduation Rate file, particularly focusing on the documentation required for a student to be excluded from a previously assigned graduation cohort. I want to emphasize that the Federal Guidance has not changed – the expectation is that all students are accounted for and are only excluded from a school or district’s graduation calculation with acceptable documentation. Our goal is create a more fair and consistent system. Although the Department will no longer collect documentation, our expectation is that school and district personnel will make decisions related to the graduation rate file in accordance with established procedures and with the Non-Regulatory Graduation Rate Guidance document issued by USED. As time and resources permit, the Department will continue to explore ways to increase the reliability of data across the state. Steve Abbott Federal and State Accountability

3. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Changes for 2011 This year, districts/ schools will report to the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) which students of the 2011 graduating class should be included in the denominatorand which students should be included in the numerator of the on-time graduation rate calculation. NUMERATOR: Number of cohort members who earned a regular high school diploma by the end of the 2010-2011 school year (including summer graduates) DENOMINATOR: Number of first-time 9th graders in 2007-08 (starting cohort) plus students who transfer in, minus students who transfer out, emigrate, or died during school years 2007-2008, 2008-2009,2009-2010, and 2010-2011

4. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 The BASE01 file = an Excel file containing records of students who are or could be members of the graduating class of 2011. Using the BASE01 file , districts and schools will report graduation rate information. • Which students graduated • Who did not graduate • Who should be removed from the cohort • Who should be added to the cohort The 2011 graduate cohort = students who entered grade 9 for the first time in the 2007-08 school year.

5. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 OVERVIEW OF THE 2011 PROCESS • Schools collect documentation for the students in this cohort beginning in the 9th grade. • June 2011– districts/schools download the BASE01 file and, using the Student Status Codes, mark the graduates and non-graduates as well as who should remain in the file. • Districts/schools will update the BASE01 file with summer graduates in August. • August 30, 2011 – districts submit their final BASE01 file to SCDE via the Accountability Data Transfer (ADT) system. District superintendents submit letter certifying the information. • Beginning in September of 2011, the BASE01 files will be utilized by SCDE in the calculation of graduation rates. • The 2011 graduation rate will be used in calculating the 2011 annual School Report Card Absolute rating for release in the Fall of 2011 • 2012 Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for No Child Left Behind to be released in August of 2012. • November 2011 – state BASE01 file is submitted to USDE to fulfill federal reporting requirements. • Graduation data are monitored as part of the Title I monitoring cycle as well as risk-based monitoring

6. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 The final BASE01 response file is due August 30, 2011.

7. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 Using the BASE01 response file, carefully consider which students should be included in the denominator and which students will be included in the numerator of the graduation cohort.You will indicate on the BASE01 file how to treat each student. • Note those students who graduated from your school this spring or earlier. These students will be in the denominator and numerator of your graduation rate. • Add any student who transferred into your school. These students will be added to the denominator and possibly the numerator if they graduated. • Remove, as allowed by Federal Regulations, students for whom you can document as an “approved” withdrawal.

8. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011

9. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 Per Federal Guidelines, there are three acceptable reasons that a student may be removed from a graduation cohort

10. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Documentation Guidelines for 2011 • Federal guidelines require authoritative written documentation for removing a student from the denominator or for adding a student to the numerators of the graduation rate calculation. • Districts remain responsible for gathering, maintaining, and reviewing required documentation for each school, however, documentation will no longer be submitted to the SCDE for review. • High school staff have been collecting documentation for students over 4 years in preparation for this process. This documentation will be used to complete this final process.

11. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 1 – Student Death (DC)

12. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 2– Student Emigration (FO)

13. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 – Student Transfer (A1) to Adult Education

14. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 (cont.) – Student Transfer (DJ) to Correctional Facility

15. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 (cont.) – Student Transfer (HS) to be Home Schooled

16. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 (cont.) –Foreign Exchange Student (FE)

17. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 (cont.) – Student Transfer (TI) to SC Public School

18. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Scenario 3 (cont.) – Student Transfer (TO) Out of State or to Non-Public School

19. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - Scenarios • Other Adjustment to Cohort File – Student’s 9GR is not 08 (NN)

20. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - SUNS Scenarios The SUNS student screen made be used as supporting documentation. • Prove a student’s 9gr is NOT the current co-hort. • Prove that a student has moved to another school in SC.

21. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - SUNS Scenarios 9th Grade Repeater History

22. 2011 GRADUATION RATE DOCUMENTATION - SUNS Scenarios 9th Grade - No History

23. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Documentation Guidelines for 2011 A file containing the documentation for the entire 2011 cohort should be maintained in each district in a folder marked “2011 Grad Rate Documentation.” Graduation rate documentation must be kept for the current year plus the previous three years. 2011 Grad Rate Documentation This practice is necessary should an audit of the documentation be required.

24. SCDE Official Transcript Information reflected on a student’s valid State of South Carolina Standard High School Transcript may serve as documentation. The original data is maintained in the PowerSchool student information system. • Enter date • Graduation date • Class of: • Diploma Type • Student Grade

25. PowerSchool Data PowerSchool is populated with important graduation related data.The following are found on the SC Additional Student Information page. • Diploma Type • Graduation Date • Orig Entry Date • Dropout Date • Dropout Reason

26. PowerSchool Data The following are found on the Student Supplemental page. • Diploma Earned • Ninth Grade Code Student Demographic screens hold these fields. • Student Name, etc • Student Grade

27. Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation - Procedures for 2011 Working with the BASE01 response file (Double click image to open sample spreadsheet.)

28. Cynthia Hearn Data Management and Analysis chearn@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8269 Lisa Woodard Data Management and Analysis lwoodard@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8573 Steve Abbott Federal and State Accountability sabbot@ed.sc.gov 803-734-0025 Susan Bell Data Management and Analysis sbell2@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8177 Barbara Solomon Technology Services Bsolomon@ed.sc.gov 803-734-7000 Louise Amos Technology Services LAmos@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8929 Monica Reed Technology Services mreed@ed.sc.gov 803-734-7000 Leon Nelson Technology Services lnelson@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8826 Tom Olson Data Management and Analysis tolson@ed.sc.gov 803-734-8174 Questions ? SCDE Office of Data Management & Analysis