1. 1 Cohort Graduation Rate April 5, 2010 Jonathan Wiens, Office of Assessment and Information Services Oregon Department of Education

2. 2 Cohort Validations Timeline  April 8 – District Validation Window Opens.  April 9 – Technical WebEx on validation and appeals.  April 15, 22, 29 – Refresh of district validation data  May 4 – Validation window closes (please don’t wait until the last week to submit appeals)  May 10 – Final District Preview  May 12 – Press Release

3. 3 What is a Cohort?  A cohort is a set of students who first entered high school (anywhere in Oregon, the U.S., or elsewhere) during a particular school year.  The 2005-06 cohort is the set of students who first entered high school anywhere during the 2005-06 school year. This is the graduating class of 2008-09.  High school entry years are not reassigned when a student transfers between schools.

4. 4 What is the Four-year Cohort Graduation Rate?  The Four-year Cohort Graduation Rate (CGR) is the percent of students who receive a regular diploma within four years of entering high school.  The rate for a particular school takes into account transfers into and out of the school during the four years.

5. 5 How does this rate differ from the NCES rate?  The cohort rate includes adult high school diplomas, modified diplomas, GEDs and non-dropout, non-completers in its denominator as non-graduates.  Early graduates in a cohort are “banked” and reported with their cohort.

6. 6 Federal Policy  The U.S. Department of Education has required that states develop cohort graduation rates by the 2010-11 school year.  Cohort rates must be included on 2010-11 school report cards.  Disaggregated cohort rates must be used in 2011-12 AYP determinations.  Federal regulations and guidance are detailed and prescriptive.

7. 7 State Policy  Oregon will produce a cohort graduation rate for use on the 2009-10 school report cards.  Oregon is seeking approval to use the cohort rate as part of AYP for 2009-10. –We are still awaiting the results of the peer review of our four-year cohort rate.

8. 8 Developing the 2005-06 Cohort  In August 2009 districts were sent a list of the students who were candidates for the 2005-06 cohort.  ODE used data from the following collections to develop these lists: – ADM (04-05 to 08-09) – Early Leavers (04-05 to 07-08) – High School Completers (04-05 to 07-08) – Membership (04-05 to 08-09)

9. 9 Developing the 2005-06 Cohort  Districts returned the lists by October 2009. Information included: –A validated cohort year –Additional information on student outcomes  ODE reviewed the returned cohort data.  Students in the district spreadsheets were the basis for the 2005-06 cohort.

10. 10 Cohort Processing ODE used records from the following sources in the production of the CGR:  Annual ADM for 2004-05 to 2008-09  Early Leavers for 2005-06 to 2008-09  High School Completers for 2005-06 to 2008-09  2 nd period Cumulative ADM for 2009-10  SSID high school entry year  District returned cohort data Note: resident district and school are used for all calculations.

11. 11 Unadjusted Cohorts The unadjusted state cohort is comprised of all students that:  enrolled in an Oregon school district by the end of the 2008-09 school year, and  first entered high school in 2005-06 in any school inside or outside Oregon. An unadjusted cohort for District A is comprised of all student that are:  Members of the unadjusted state cohort; and  whose last enrollment at a district in Oregon was District A.

12. 12 Student Outcomes All students in the unadjusted state/district cohort are assigned an outcome: 1.Graduate: regular high school diploma. 2.Exempt: Transfer, move to home schooling, emigrate, or are deceased. 3.Other Completers: Received an Adult High School Diploma, Modified Diploma, GED or Alternative Certificate. 4.Continuing enrollment in their fifth year. 5.Completed four years without a credential and did not return. 6.Withdrew from school prior to the end of the four-year window.

13. 13 Who is exempted? We remove students from an institution’s cohort if they:  Transfer to another public high school in Oregon;  Transfer to a private school;  Leave for home schooling;  Transfer to a high school in another state;  Emigrate; or  Are deceased. Note: These outcomes must be the last event for the student.

14. 14 Who is NOT exempted? The following situations do NOT exempt a student from an institution:  Transfer to an alternative program within the district;  Transfer to a JDEP.

15. 15 Assigning Students to Districts  By a “district” we mean any regular school district, including YCEP, but excluding JDEP and ESDs.  Students are assigned to an Accountable District as follows: –Regular diplomas are assigned to the reporting district. –Exempted, other completers, non-graduates, and students who withdrew are assigned to the last district they were enrolled at, as evidenced by:  The district in their leaver or completer record (if any – we exclude JDEP and ESD)  Lacking a leaver/completer record in a district we use the last district the student was enrolled in.

16. 16 Assigning Students to Schools  By a “high school” we mean any regular school that receives an AYP report and includes grades 10 or higher.  Once a student is assigned to an Accountable District, we assign students to schools within the district: –Regular diplomas are assigned to the reporting school. –Exempted students, other completers, non-graduates, and students who withdrew are assigned to the last high school (if any) they were enrolled at in their accountable district, as evidenced by:  The high school in their leaver or completer record (if any – we exclude JDEP and ESD, and non high schools)  Lacking a leaver/completer record in a district we use the last high school the student was enrolled at in the district.

17. 17 Adjusted Cohorts The adjusted state cohort is comprised of all students that:  are members of the unadjusted cohort; and  are not exempt. An adjusted cohort for School A is comprised of all student that are:  Members of the unadjusted school cohort; and  Are not exempt.

18. 18 Calculating the CGR The four-year cohort graduation rate for the 2005- 06 cohort is calculated as: Number of students in the adjusted cohort who received regular diplomas by August 31, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Number of students in the adjusted cohort for the district or school

19. 19 Calculating the CGR The CGR will be shown for the following subgroups:  All students  Students with disabilities  Limited English proficient  Economically disadvantaged  Race/Ethnicity  Gender  Migrant  TAG

20. 20 Subgroup Membership  Race/Ethnicity/Gender –Based on student outcome record (or last enrollment record).  Students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, migrant, TAG –Based on whether the student was classified in these subgroups at any time during high school

21. WebEx on Friday, April 9  This WebEx will be a technical presentation designed to help district staff who are validating their numbers.  It will include more details on the student outcome hierarchy, assigning students to schools, and how to submit appeals. 21

22. 22 Cohort Validations Timeline  April 8 – District Validation Window Opens.  April 9 – Technical WebEx on district validation procedures.  April 15, 22, 29 – Refresh of Data on Validation Window  May 4 – Validation Window closes  May 10 – Final District Preview  May 12 – Press Release

23. 23 Links  Cohort Graduation Rate web page: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=2644 http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=2644 By Friday, April 9 the web page will include: – Cohort Graduation Policy and Technical Manual – Validation Timeline – Instructions for district validations and appeals – Copy of this WebEx – Announcements and updates

24. 24 Contact Information For more information on the Cohort Graduation Rate, contacts are: Brian Lindsley (primary contact) Brian Lindsley (primary contact) email: brian.lindsley@state.or.us email: brian.lindsley@state.or.usbrian.lindsley@state.or.us phone: 503-947-5928 phone: 503-947-5928 Jon Wiens Jon Wiens email: jon.wiens@state.or.us email: jon.wiens@state.or.usjon.wiens@state.or.us phone: 503 947-5764 phone: 503 947-5764 Cynthia Yee Cynthia Yee email: cynthia.yee@state.or.us email: cynthia.yee@state.or.us phone: 503-947-5780 phone: 503-947-5780