State using new method to calculate graduation rate

MONTGOMERY — A new method being used to calculate Alabama’s graduation rate shows only 65 percent of students finished high school on time in 2009, which is a 21 point difference from the state’s previously reported rate of 86 percent.

The new formula, called the 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate, counts only students who receive a high school diploma within four years as graduates. The state previously counted anyone who received any of six available diploma options regardless of the amount of time it took.

Christopher Swanson, director of Editorial Projects in Education, said the new calculation will help Alabama by accurately showing where the state stands. The Bethesda, Md.-based organization has conducted several studies on graduation rates and college preparedness and Alabama usually ranks low on their lists.

“A 20-point drop under the new formula is exactly what we would have expected,” Swanson said of the state’s new rate Thursday. “Alabama deserves credit for doing this. It’s an important step to take, especially knowing that things are going to be looking kind of strange in the beginning.”

State Superintendent Joe Morton spoke at the State Board of Education’s monthly work session on Thursday, saying it’s clear Alabama needs to do better no matter the method of measurement.

“This state will be better off in the long run if we will refocus our attention on graduation rates,” he said. “That’s the holy grail. If you reduce the dropout rate and don’t work on graduation rate, you may keep them in school but they don’t finish.”

Several states have already switched to the new formula and all will be required to make the change by 2012. The new method was developed by the National Governors Association to create a uniform definition so accurate comparisons of high school graduation can be made across states.

Alabama’s previous graduation formula was developed for Annual Yearly Progress calculations under the No Child Left Behind Act and was approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

“This puts the focus on on-time graduation, which is what the goal should be regardless,” said Mark Dixon, who is Gov. Bob Riley’s education policy adviser.

“It’s important to know where we stand with an on-time graduation rate ... so we can work on continuously improving and getting more students college- and career-ready,” he said.

According to the education department, a little more than 65,200 students began ninth grade in 2006 but only about 42,400 of them graduated in 2009. There were nearly 4,400 dropouts and about 16,000 students who were held back, didn’t return to school or didn’t earn enough credits to graduate. Still another 2,250 didn’t pass the high school graduation exam or left school and earned a graduation certificate or GED.

Morton said the state’s First Choice diploma program will help catch students in danger of dropping out. The plan incorporates more options designed to boost graduation rates. For example, students who want to drop out must first have an exit interview with a parent and guidance counselor.

Thomas West, a researcher affiliated with Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center, said Alabama is better positioned for success now that it has a “baseline measure” and will be able to focus on students when they enter high school.

“One of the great things about the cohort is looking at the ninth grade year,” he said. “If you fall behind in ninth grade, you might not graduate and you definitely won’t get out in time.”