State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education (Page 5 of 277) in pdf

State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education Page 5

Arkansas Department of Education Special Education Unit

Part B State Performance Plan

Monitoring Priority: FAPE in the LRE

Indicator 01: Graduation Rates

Percent of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma (20 U.S.C. 1416 (a)(3)(A))

Measurement

States must report using the graduation rate calculation and timeline established by the Department under

the ESEA.

Arkansas’ graduation rate is outlined in Section 7.1 of the Consolidated State Application Accountability

Workbook for State Grants under Title IX, Part C, Section 9302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act (Public Law 107-110). The Accountability workbook can be accessed on the Arkansas Department of

Education’s website at

Section 7.1 High School Graduation Rate

Definition of High School Graduation Rate

Consistent with guidance from the United States Department of Education staff in the Office of Elementary

and Secondary Education, Arkansas will use the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate to calculate

graduation rate.

As defined in 34 C.F.R. §200.19(b)(1)(i)-(iv), the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is the number of

students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students

who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of 9th grade, students who are

entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently “adjusted” by adding any students

who transfer into the cohort later during the 9

grade and the next three years and subtracting any students

who transfer out, emigrate to another country, or die during that same period.

[Subpopulations are established during the 9

grade year. If a student is identified as a student with a

disability (SWD) he/she will remain in the subpopulation cohort even if he/she is dismissed from services.]

The following formula provides an example of the four-year graduation rate for the cohort entering 9th

grade for the first time in the fall of the 2008-2009 school year and graduating by the end of the 2011-2012

school year.

Formula: Four-Year Graduation Rate

(Number of cohort members who earned a regular high school diploma by the end of the

2011- 2012 school year)

DIVIDED BY

(Number of first-time 9th graders in fall 2008 (starting cohort) plus students who transfer in,

minus students who transfer out, emigrate, or die during school years 2008-2009, 2009-2010,

2010-2011, and 2011-2012)

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State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education Page 5