Graduation Rates and Dropout Data – IRP Poverty Dispatch

National graduation rates likely to dip as states switch to more accurate calculation formula, By Associated Press, July 27, 2011, Washington Post: “KANSAS CITY, Mo. – States are bracing for plummeting high school graduation rates as districts nationwide dump flawed measurement formulas that often undercounted dropouts and produced inflated results.Education wonks long have suspected the statistics used by some people to determine how their neighborhood high school is faring – or even where to buy a house – can be figured using various formulas that produce wildly different results. Now, many states are facing a sobering reset: Some could see numbers fall by as many as 20 percentage points…”
Why Dropout Data Can Be So Unreliable, By Claudio Sanchez, July 28, 2011, National Public Radio: “Accurate dropout figures are very hard to find because most states don’t adequately collect or analyze the data. Part of the problem is that every state has had a different definition for dropout. In some states, for example, students who leave school aren’t counted as having dropped out if they enroll in adult education classes like night school. Many schools don’t count kids as dropouts if they enroll in a GED program. The U.S. Department of Education says GED recipients should be counted as dropouts but that rule isn’t uniformly applied…”