1. 1 Mississippi Department of Education Office of Research and Statistics Ken Thompson February 3, 2011 February 7, 2011 Verification of the Final Status Of Students in the 2006-2007 Cohort of 9 th Graders For Graduation/Dropout Calculations

2. 2 Webinar Agenda Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures Data Verification/Correction Procedures Submission of Verification/Correction/Documentation Procedures

3. 3 Webinar Agenda Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures Data Verification/Correction Procedures Submission of Verification/Correction/Documentation Procedures

4. 4 Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures Cohort is based on students who were first-time 9 th graders four years prior to the latest complete year in MSIS. Latest complete year in MSIS is 2009-2010 Four years prior is 2006-2007 Students who move to Mississippi in 10 th, 11 th, or 12 th grades will be added to the cohort of students where 9 th graders at the same time. Students who are adequately documented as transferring to a legitimate educational institution or as deceased are not considered when calculating rates.

5. 5 Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures (Continued) Students who are in grades 56, 58, or 78 are placed in a cohort based on age rather than grade. Students are included in one and only one cohort. Once placed in a cohort, students are never moved to a different cohort.

6. 6 Graduation Rate vs Completion Rate Four-Year Graduation Rate is the number of students in the cohort who received a traditional diploma by the end of summer school 2010 divided by the number of students in the cohort. (The number of students in the cohort has been reduced by the number of legitimate transfers and deaths). Four-Year Completion Rate is the number of students in the cohort who received a traditional diploma, SPED Certificate, Occupational Diploma, or In-House GED by the end of summer school 2010 divided by the number of students in the cohort. (The number of students in the cohort has been reduced by the number of legitimate transfers and deaths).

7. 7 Dropout Rates Four-Year Dropout Rate is the number of students in the cohort who have dropped out of school by the end of summer school 2010 divided by the number of students in the cohort. (The number of students in the cohort has been reduced by the number of legitimate transfers and deaths). A student is considered a dropout if the student stopped attending school OR there is insufficient documentation to show otherwise. A student is NOT considered a dropout in the four-year rates if the student is still attending school or if the district is actively working to help a student who has completed all graduation requirements pass one or more subject area tests.

8. 8 Four Year Completion, Graduation and Dropout Rates The verified data from this cohort will be used to build the four year completion, graduation, and dropout rates released to the public in March, 2011. These four year rates will also be used in the federal AYP accountability model for determining “Other Academic Indicator”.

9. 9 Five Year Completion, Graduation and Dropout Rates (Continued) This cohort will be used to compute five-year graduation rates in the Spring, 2012. Five year rates computed in March, 2011 will be based on the four- year cohort based on first-time 9 th graders in 2005-2006. This is the cohort that was verified in March, 2010.

10. 10 Webinar Agenda Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures Data Verification/Correction Procedures Submission of Verification/Correction/Documentation Procedures

11. 11 Accurate data is a necessity not a luxury For graduation/dropout rates to be meaningful, the calculations must be based on data that is accurate, reliable, and consistent across districts/schools. Both the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) have been charged with ensuring that student data is accurate, reliable, and consistent across schools so that graduation/dropout rates can be effectively used to affect change. To that end, MDE will be requiring documentation for any requested changes to the graduation/dropout cohort and OSA will be verifying documentation of other students in the cohort.

12. 12 Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued) The cohort is located in each district’s secure Sharepoint folder for “Accountability 2011”. https://sharepoint.ors.ms

13. 13 Log In Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

14. 14 username@ors.ms password This is the username/password used to download accountability results. Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

15. 15 Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

16. 16 Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

17. 17 You will only see a folder for your district! Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

18. 18 Click on the “Accountability 20011” folder. Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

19. 19 Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

20. 20 Click on ‘Explorer View’ Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

21. 21 Spreadsheet needed Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

22. 22 DistrictSchool MSIS NumberLast NameFirst NameMIGenderRace Date of Birth Last Grade Last Enrollment DateFinal StatusCorrected Status 9999999111111111NixonRichard MW8/15/19921211/17/2009Dropout 9999999222222222FordGerald MW1/10/1992128/10/2009Graduate 9999999333333333CarterJames MW6/21/1992118/10/2009Transfer Out of State 9999999444444444ReaganRonald MW8/30/1991118/10/2009Still Enrolled in 2010/11 9999999555555555BushGeorgeHMW9/13/198998/7/2006Dropout-Summer Activity 9999999666666666ClintonWilliamMW2/3/1991128/10/2009Certificate of Attendance 9999999777777777BushGeorgeWMW9/3/199198/7/2006Transfer to Non-Public 9999999888888888ObamaBarrack MB7/12/1991128/10/2009Occupational Diploma Downloading the cohort spreadsheet (Continued)

23. 23 Ensuring data is accurate Every student included in the cohort will be provided to the district in which the student was last enrolled. (The district with the last enrollment record will have the final status of the student) Cohorts will be provided in a spreadsheet in the district’s secure folder on the Sharepoint server. (Same location as accountability results, preliminary Sr. Snapshot, etc.) A final status is provided for each student as determined from MSIS. A location is provided for the verified status of each student.

24. 24 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) The options for the verified status are provided via a drop-down box. Only options listed in the drop-down box will be accepted as a final verified status for the student. For any student whose verified status is not “Correct as Reported” OR “Dropout”, physical documentation must be submitted to support the requested change. If sufficient documentation is not submitted, the original final status of the student will be used in calculations.

25. 25 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) DistrictSchool MSIS NumberLast NameFirst NameMIGenderRace Date of Birth Last Grade Last Enrollment DateFinal StatusVerified Status 9999999111111111NixonRichard MW8/15/19921211/17/2009Dropout 9999999222222222FordGerald MW1/10/1992128/10/2009Graduate 9999999333333333CarterJames MW6/21/1992118/10/2009Transfer Out of State 9999999444444444ReaganRonald MW8/30/1991118/10/2009Still Enrolled in 2010/11 9999999555555555BushGeorgeHMW9/13/198998/7/2006Dropout-Summer Activity 9999999666666666ClintonWilliamMW2/3/1991128/10/2009Certificate of Attendance 9999999777777777BushGeorgeWMW9/3/199198/7/2006Transfer to Non-Public 9999999888888888ObamaBarrack MB7/12/1991128/10/2009Occupational Diploma

26. 26 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) Notice the scroll bar that indicates additional options

27. 27 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) Notice the scroll bar that indicates additional options

28. 28 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) All Students Highlighted in Yellow MUST have sufficient documentation submitted for their final status to be changed All Students Highlighted in Yellow MUST have sufficient documentation submitted for their final status to be changed!! All Students Highlighted in Yellow MUST have sufficient documentation submitted for their final status to be changed

29. 29 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) Without sufficient documentati on, original final status will be used!!

30. 30 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) Notice that documentation is not requested for the student whose status is being updated to “Dropout”

31. 31 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) Although data audits will not be limited to those students whose status didn’t change, documentation of these data will be left for the data audit.

32. 32 Ensuring data is accurate (Continued) So, you do NOT need to submit documentation for any students whose status did NOT change!!

33. 33 Documentation What documentation is “sufficient”? Answer: It is impossible to list all documentation that might be considered sufficient. What is sufficient for one student may or may not be considered sufficient for another student. Your Sharepoint folder contains a document titled Data Verification Procedures 2006-2007. This document provides guidance on the cohort verification process including examples of sufficient documentation.

34. 34 Documentation Page 5 of the Guidance (Continued) Verified StatusSupporting Documentation Correct As Reported None required to be submitted. However, it is imperative to have supporting documentation on file. During an audit, documentation must be provided. Traditional Diploma Recipient  Copy of the diploma.  Cumulative record of student with the diploma recorded. SPED Certificate of Attendance Recipient  Copy of the certificate.  Cumulative record of student with the certificate recorded. Occupational Diploma Recipient  Copy of the occupational diploma.  Cumulative record of student with the diploma recorded. In-House GED Recipient  Copy of the GED certificate with documentation that it was received in-house. Missing One or More SATP Passing Scores District policy outlining graduation requirements and records of student demonstrating student’s fulfillment of the requirements. Transfer To A Non-Public SchoolRequest for records on letterhead from the receiving school. Transfer Out-of-State/Out-of- Country Request for records on letterhead from the receiving school. Note: Students transferring out of state do not require formal documentation. Written documentation from family, neighbor, etc. is sufficient for out of country transfers. Transfer to a State Special School If the transfer is recorded in MSIS, a note indicating the transfer is sufficient. If the transfer is not recorded in MSIS, the transfer must be recorded on letterhead from the receiving school. Transfer to Home School Letter from the school attendance officer acknowledging transfer of student to home school. DeceasedObituary or death notice from local paper. DropoutNo documentation required.

35. 35 Deadline for verifying and submitting documentation The final cohort will be built on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 using the verified final status of each student. Consequently, Revisions MUST be received by 8:00 am on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 to be included in the final calculations for the 2006-2007 cohort of first-time 9 th graders.

36. 36 Webinar Agenda Graduation/Dropout Calculation Procedures Data Verification/Correction Procedures Submission of Verification/Correction/Documentation Procedures

37. 37 Submitting the verified cohort and supporting documentation Revisions MUST be received by 8:00 am on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 to be included in the final calculations for the 2006-2007 cohort of first-time 9 th graders. Submit to: The Mississippi Department of Education Office of Research and Statistics PO Box 771 Jackson, MS 39205 ATTN: Barbara Quarles

38. 38 Submitting the verified cohort and supporting documentation (Continued) 1. 2. 3.

39. 39 Send us the packet… Mississippi Department of Education Office of Research and Statistics PO Box 771 Jackson, MS 39205 ATTN: Barbara Quarles Ship the Packet to us REQUIRING A SIGNATURE Submitting the verified cohort and supporting documentation (Continued)

40. 40 The packet with all documentation must be in our office by March 1 at 8:00 AM Deadline Submitting the verified cohort and supporting documentation (Continued)

41. 41 Questions Office of Research and Statistics 601-359-1878 Barbara Quarles – bquarles@mde.k12.ms.us Ken Thompson – kthompson@mde.k12.ms.us