High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates Better Data, Better Measures, Better Decisions (2011) / Chapter Skim
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8 Summary of Recommendations
8 Summary of Recommendations
Pages 109-118
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From page 109... ...
It is important to note, however, that no indicator is perfect, and trade-offs among these criteria are almost always required. To help users draw sound conclusions about any reported rate, the strengths and weaknesses of the rate and the decisions that went into the calculations should be documented.
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From page 110... ...
We endorse the inclusion of dropout and completion indicators in accountability policy but recommend that a variety of statistics be reported, specifically: RECOMMENDATION 2-1: Federal and state accountability policy should require schools and districts to report a number of types of dropout, gradu ation, and completion rates: for all students and for students grouped by race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, English language learner sta tus, and disability status. Furthermore, accountability policy should require schools and districts to set and meet meaningful progress goals for improv ing their graduation and dropout rates.
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From page 111... ...
Types of supplementary information include transfer rates, rates that do not remove transfer students or incorporate new students, age-based rates, and the percentage of students with unknown graduation status. Throughout this report, we have discussed the variety of kinds of rates (e.g., status rates, event rates, cohort rates based on individual data, and cohort rates based on aggregated data)
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From page 112... ...
Act. We recognize that education falls within the purview of state governments; however, we think the federal government should continue to play a role in bringing comparability to the ways that the rates are calculated and in the development of improved indicators.
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From page 113... ...
Alternate graduation rates for English language learners should include former ELL students as well as students currently classified in this category. Thus, records on ELL status should accompany students as they progress through grades, change ELL status, and transfer across districts.
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From page 114... ...
Below we group these recommendations into those intended for states and local school districts and those intended for the federal government. State and Local Education Agencies States play the leading role in collecting the data that are used to produce cohort rates, the rates that are ultimately used for accountability purposes.
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From page 115... ...
We therefore recommend: RECOMMENDATION 6-4: All states and local education agencies should conduct regular audits of data systems to ensure that reporting of student enrollment status is accurate and that adequate documentation is obtained to verify the status of transfer students and students who drop out. Federal government The federal government can also do much to support the development of quality data systems.
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From page 116... ...
The federal government can also play a role in collecting data that can be used to validate state estimates of graduation rates. If additional information were collected through the American Community Survey (ACS)
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From page 117... ...
In addition to identifying individual factors associated with dropping out, this endeavor identified school characteristics associated with lower dropout rates, such as college preparatory programs and vocational education programs. We make two recommendations with regard to the kinds of actions that states should take to improve policy and practice: RECOMMENDATION 7-2: State governments should develop more ro bust education data systems that can better measure student progress and institutional improvement efforts.
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From page 118... ...
Finally, we think the federal government should play an active role in this area by collecting data on the precursors of dropping out. This would allow for indicators of progress toward graduation at the national level and enable comparative studies on early indicators of dropout across states and localities.
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