FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 22, 2009
For More Information
Contact:
Jonathan Burman, Jane Briggs, or Tom Dunn at (518) 474-1201
Internet: http://www.nysed.gov
BOARD OF REGENTS CONSIDER NEW ACTIONS
TO RAISE
NEW YORK’S GRADUATION RATE;
USE NEW DATA TO GUIDE DECISION-MAKING
The State Board of Regents today discussed a number of issues
related to New York’s high school graduation rate. Among
the issues discussed were the following: how students,
particularly those with the lowest graduation rates, performed;
whether to set new graduation rate goals and targets; whether to
use a 4 and/or 5-year graduation rate; what the impact of
phasing-out the local diploma will be; and how to improve the
reliability of the data that districts report to the Education
Department. To guide their decision-making on these issues, the
Regents reviewed newly available graduation rate data.
Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said, “There is no
issue more important to the Regents than raising New York’s
graduation rate for all students, particularly those who have
traditionally been in the gap. While there have been some modest
improvements over time, we know that far too many children are
failing to graduate. The Regents will work to change that. And we
will work to make certain that the data reported to us by schools
are accurate and reliable.”
State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills added,
“The policy questions and data are complex, but the human
reality of the situation is straightforward. Everyone must
graduate with a diploma that signifies college and work
readiness. Ultimately, only high expectations make sense, and
have traction when linked to effective practices and systems that
make success possible.
To inform the Regents discussions that will ultimately lead to
policy decisions, staff presented new graduation rate data. Those
data, reported by school districts to the Education Department,
show that statewide graduation rates are steadily increasing
overall, but still remain low. Specifically, among the 2004
cohort (i.e., the group of students who began ninth
grade in 2004), the percentage of students who graduated with a
Regents or a local diploma in June 2008 was 70.9%; that is up
from 69.3% in the previous year. By August 2008, 73.6% of the
2004 cohort had graduated.
The data also show that a fifth year of high school increases
the graduation rate. Among the 2003 cohort, for example, the
five-year graduation rate improved to 75.6% -- a six point
improvement over that cohort’s four-year rate. A fifth year
is particularly significant for black and Hispanic students. For
black students who started ninth grade in 2003, almost 4,000
more students graduated in the fifth year; similarly, 3,945 more
Hispanic students graduated after a fifth year.
Other significant findings from the 2004 cohort data include
the following:
- The gap between black and Hispanic students, as compared with
white students, is narrowing. For example:
- The percentage point difference between black and white
students has decreased every year, as follows: 2001 cohort (34
point difference); 2002 cohort (33 point difference); 2003 cohort
(30 point difference); and 2004 cohort (28 point difference; 25
points through August).
- The percentage point difference between Hispanic and white
students has decreased every year, as follows: 2001 cohort (37
point difference); 2002 cohort (35 point difference); 2003 cohort
(33 point difference); and 2004 cohort (30 point difference; 27
points through August).
- The graduation rate for Students with Disabilities remains
low. 41.5% of the 2004 cohort graduated with a local or Regents
diploma after four years. However, more are remaining in school
and fewer are dropping out.
- The graduation rate for English Language Learners (ELL) also
remains low. 35.7% of the 2004 cohort graduated with a local or
Regents diploma after four years. However, 38.8% were still
enrolled and had not dropped out.
- Among students who graduate, more are earning a Regents
Diploma.
The newly available 2004 cohort data helped inform the Regents
discussion of graduation rate issues. The discussion was
presented in three broad areas.
- Situation Analysis
-
- Comparing the graduation rates of various groups with
the overall statewide rate. The Regents were presented
with the following data:
-
- Four-Year Graduation Rates for the 2003 and 2004 cohorts,
through June:
-
- All Students, statewide
-
- Students With Disabilities
-
- English Language Learners
-
- Black Students
-
- Hispanic Students
-
- White Students
-
- Asian/Pacific Islander Students
-
- The impact of phasing-out the local diploma for
general education students. Beginning with students who
entered ninth grade in 2008, general education students will no
longer have the option to receive a local diploma under current
regulations. The Regents were presented with the following
data:
-
- Percentage of students who graduated in June 2008 and
received a local diploma instead of a Regents diploma:
-
- All Students, statewide: 16%
- Students With Disabilities: 50%
- English Language Learners: 48%
- Black Students: 33%
- Hispanic Students: 31%
- White Students: 10%
- Asian/Pacific Islander Students: 9.5%
The Regents will analyze these decisions as they consider
whether to continue implementing the phase-out of the local
diploma.
- Ensuring the reliability of the data that districts
report. The Regents discussed the need for accurate and
reliable data. In a recent audit of the 2002 cohort, the State
Comptroller found that a number of schools had not kept adequate
records of transfers. As a result, four of the twelve high
schools audited reported graduation rates that were inaccurate by
more than five percentage points. Staff also noted that the
Department is in the midst of major advances in data collection
and reporting, organizationally and technologically. These
actions will foster greater accuracy and timeliness in the
collection and reporting of data.
- Calculating the Graduation Rate. Different
states use different methods to calculate the graduation rates
they report to the U.S. Department of Education for
accountability purposes. Some states, including New York, use the
“cohort rate,” which calculates the percent of
students from an entering ninth grade cohort who graduate with a
diploma (local or Regents) in four years.
Graduation rate accountability determinations about schools
and districts are based upon whether the school or district has
met the graduation rate goal established by the state or,
alternatively, whether the school or district has met the
established graduation rate target. New York’s current
four-year graduation rate goal for accountability
purposes is 55% and the annual target is a 1% increase for
schools and districts below the goal. Schools and districts that
fail to meet the goal or target for two consecutive years do not
make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and are identified as being
in need of improvement.
AYP decisions are currently based only on a school or
district’s aggregate graduation rate, not the disaggregated
graduation rate for individual groups of students (e.g.,
racial/ethnic groups, low-income students, students with
disabilities, and English Language Learners). Consistent with the
Regents focus to close the achievement gap for all students, the
federal government has also asked the states to begin
disaggregating graduation rate data for accountability purposes,
no later than with the 2011-12 school year results.
Based on the 2004 cohort data, the disaggregated data show
that a total of 272 high schools (of New York’s 1003) would
not meet the 55% accountability graduation rate goal for at least
one student group.
- What we Know About the Schools with Low Graduation
Rates
-
- The data show that the largest gaps in the graduation rate
exist mainly in the large urban districts. The Regents were
presented with the following data:
-
- Four-Year Graduation Rates for the 2004 cohort, through June,
by Need/Resource Capacity Category:
-
- All students, statewide: 71%
- New York City: 56%
- Large City: 50%
- Urban-Suburban: 62%
- Rural: 73%
- Average Need: 80%
- Low Need: 92%
- The data also show that the large city districts issue the
largest percentage of local diplomas. For the 2004 cohort, for
example, 39% of students in large city school districts who
graduated in four years received a local diploma rather than a
Regents diploma; 28% of students from schools in New York City
received a local diploma. By contrast, only 9% of students in Low
Need districts received a local diploma.
- The data show that strategies to address the needs of schools
and students in urban districts are of particular importance in
meeting the Regents goal of raising graduation rates for all.
Note: the Regents Discussion Item contains detailed data on the
performance of each of the Big 5 school districts as well as
information about some of the initiatives the Regents and the
Education Department are engaged in to improve student
achievement.
- Setting Graduation Goals and Targets
-
- The federal government has asked states to adopt new,
stronger, and more inclusive graduation rate requirements. The
Regents therefore have an opportunity to adopt new definitions of
graduation (e.g., counting graduation rates for five or
even six years instead of four years only) and to set goals and
targets for all disaggregated groups of students (e.g.,
by race/ethnicity, income, disability, and English Language
Learner status). Schools and districts would then be held
accountable for improving graduation rates using these more
inclusive and more rigorous rules.
- Defining the Graduation Rate Cohort. How the
graduation rate cohort is defined determines which students are
being counted for accountability purposes. The federal government
has asked every state to adopt the new federal graduation rate
definition and use this definition beginning no later than with
the 2011-2012 results. New York’s current definition of the
four-year cohort is already very close to the proposed federal
definition. The more quickly the federal definition is adopted in
New York, the less time schools and districts will have to
prepare for the changes. So the Regents must decide whether to
begin using the new federal definition beginning with the
2009-10, 2010-11, or 2011-12 school year results.
- Setting the Graduation Rate Goal and Annual
Targets. As noted earlier, states must also disaggregate
graduation rate data for determining AYP based on assessments
administered beginning with the 2011-2012 school year results.
The Regents were presented with data showing that as the
graduation rate goal increases, the number of high schools that
will not make AYP for various student groups will increase as
well. For example, if the graduation rate goal was raised to 80%,
it would result in 75 of the 102 high schools that are
accountable for ELL students being identified as being in need of
improvement for that student group.
Federal No Child Left Behind regulations give states
considerable flexibility in how they establish graduation rate
targets. So the Regents must determine how rigorous they want the
graduation rate goal and annual targets to be for federal
accountability purposes.
- Using an Extended Year Adjusted Graduation
Rate. The federal regulations also permit states to base
AYP determinations in part on the performance of students who
graduate in more than four years. New York already tracks and
reports five and six year graduation rates; those rates, however,
are not currently counted for federal accountability purposes.
U.S. Education Department guidance suggests that states seeking
to implement a five year graduation rate will likely be approved.
If a state chooses to implement an extended year graduation rate
cohort, the state must decide how that extended graduation rate
will be used in combination with the four year graduation rate
for making AYP determinations.
An extended graduation rate provides schools and districts with
additional incentive to continue to work with students to ensure
that they graduate, even if they graduate in more than four
years. Use of an extended year graduation rate is an important
factor for students with disabilities, many of whom need
additional time to earn the course credits and pass the
challenging State assessments required to graduate.
The information being presented in this release refers to what
is called the “total cohort.” The total cohort
consists of virtually all students who entered 9th grade in a
particular year and tracks their progress through high school
after 4, 5, and 6 years. A precise definition is available at www.nysed.gov.
This total cohort is now being used for school and district
accountability. It replaces a different method of counting
students which was started before New York State had an
individual student data system. This earlier, less complete
cohort did not count students who dropped out during the first
two years of high school. In the past, this less complete cohort
was used for school and district accountability and was reported
on the School Report Card.
The Regent Commissioner’s Powerpoint presentation,
additional slides, and individual school and district data are
available at this address: www.nysed.gov.
Graduation Rate Data - June 22, 2009
Archived Webcast of the June 22 Meeting of the Board of Regents and Commissioner Mills Board of Regents Presentation on Graduation Rates
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