Federal Uniform Four-Year
Cohort Graduation Rate
Presenter
Cyndi Holleman
Federal Uniform Graduation Rate
• Define the federal uniform rate
• Explain the review process
• Provide tips and recommendations for
reviewing the files
• Questions and Answers
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Federal Uniform Graduation Rate
• Definition
The percentage of students who graduated
with a standard diploma within four years of
their initial enrollment in ninth grade in the
district.
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Federal Uniform Graduation Rate
• All students must be accounted for
• Counts only standard diplomas
• Does not remove transfers to adult education
programs (remain in denominator)
• Assigns DJJ students to their most recent
regular high school
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Federal Uniform Graduation Rate
Total Number of Standard Diplomas Earned
within Four Years
÷
Adjusted Cohort
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Building the Unadjusted Cohort
Key Data Elements
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student Number Identifier, Florida
School Number, Current Enrollment
Withdrawal Code
Diploma Code
Withdrawal Date
Grade Level
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Building the Unadjusted Cohort
• Include all first-time 9th graders in fall 2009
membership in your district
• Add incoming transfers on the same schedule
to graduate
o New 9th graders in 2009-10
o New 10th graders in 2010-11
o New 11th graders in 2011-12
o New 12th graders in 2012-13
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Reviewing the Unadjusted Cohort File
• Student Level File
• DUPs file
• At-Risk File
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Student Level File
• File Name DPS##.GQ.F63494.Y12135.P4YR*
• Contains all students that entered and exited
your district within the 4-year window
• Key Fields
o Withdrawal/Diploma Code
o At-Risk Designation
*Format provided in TAP
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DUPs File
• File Name DPS##.GQ.F63494.Y12135.DUPs
• Do not sort or make any adjustments to this file
• Provides list of all students enrolled in multiple districts
during the 4-year window
• Inclusion in file does not necessarily mean the student
is incorrectly coded in your cohort!
• Tool to locate students coded as dropouts or nongraduates such as DNEs, W01’s, etc.
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At-Risk File
• File Name DPS##.GQ.F71300.Y1213.ATRISK
• 8th Grade FCAT Math and Reading scores for all 9-12
grade students enrolled in your district during Survey
2, 2012-13
• Contains the highest score found regardless of date
test taken
• Does not contain EOC scores
• To be used as a supplement to your district’s test
data – not to replace it
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At-Risk Category
• Students must score Level 2 or below on both 8th
grade FCAT Reading and 8th grade FCAT Math.
• Students taking Algebra I or Geometry EOC are
not considered “at-risk”.
• Students not enrolled in a Florida public school
in the 8th grade are not considered at-risk for
graduation rate purposes.
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Review Process
• The file you get reflects the data you sent via the
database.
• Serves as your “Appeals” process.
• Provides opportunity to review and update
archived data.
• Concerted efforts should be made to send 201213 survey 5 corrections via the database as soon
as possible.
• All Survey 5 corrections after August 31 must be
made to both the automated system and the
cohort file.
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Tips and Recommendations
District Level:
• Sort file by name or ID to ensure there are no
duplicates prior to distributing to schools.
• Sort file by school to ensure no elementary or
middle school students are included in the file.
• Ensure schools submit updates as scheduled.
• Designate a “point of contact” to assist school staff
with the process.
• Be sure to review all documentations and
instructions to all staff involved in the review.
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Tips and Recommendations
School Level Staff
• Read all documentation prior to reviewing the file.
• Concentrate review efforts only on those students
who negatively impact your cohort; dropouts,
DNE’s, non-graduates such as W01s, W26s.
• Ensure all students who graduated prior to the
beginning on the new school year are reported as
such.
• Adhere to timelines.
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DJJ Students
• DJJ students must remain with their original
high school prior to adjudication.
• DJJ students never enrolled in a Florida public
high school remain with the DJJ facility.
• W3As, W01s, and W02s count as nongraduates when assigned back to the regular
high school.
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Transfer to Adult Ed Programs
• Students who transfer to adult education
centers are not removed from the regular high
school’s cohort.
• Students who transfer to an adult education
program in another district must be coded
W26 – not W3B.
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What can be updated?
•
•
•
•
The Withdrawal Code
The Withdrawal Date
The At-Risk flag
In unusual cases, the School Number
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Correcting the File
• Ensure the corrections are applied to the correct field.
• DUP for duplicate student.
– Student was in a prior cohort.
– Student was assigned more than one ID number.
– W3A is the more appropriate code if the student enrolled in
another district.
• DEL (students pulled into cohort too early such as mid-year
promotions.)
• ADD should only be used to appropriately add students
who were removed from the prior year cohort.
• NOT is for DJJ students only and indicates the DJJ student
should remain with the DJJ facility and not with the regular
school.
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Submitting the Corrections
• Submit file in the same format as it was
received.
• Notify DOE when you submit your file to
ensure it can be processed.
• Notify DOE if you need to replace a file
already submitted. (A new file does not
overlay a prior file with the same name.)
• Adhere to all schedules and timelines.
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Check Edit Reports
• DPS##.GQ.F63494.Y12135.EDITS
• How many updates were made to your cohort file?
• How many, if any, were rejected and why?
• Contact our office prior to submitting any additional
updates to your revised file.
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Certification of File
• DOE must be notified when corrections are
submitted.
• DOE must be notified if your district has no
corrections.
• Certification must be submitted via email to:
[email protected] or [email protected]
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Certification Notice
• My district has submitted all corrections to
the cohort file; or
• My district has no corrections to the cohort
file.
• Must be dated and signed by district designee.
• Must be submitted via email to:
[email protected] or [email protected]
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How the Cohort is Adjusted
Remove the following:
• Transfers to other public schools* (W3A, W3B)
• Transfers to private schools (W04)
• Transfers to home education programs (W24)
• Deceased students (W12)
• Students corrected to DUPs, DELs, and NOTs.
*Transfers to DJJ facilities excluded
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2013 Timeline
August 2
Survey 5
Due Date
September 16
Four-Year File
Ready
August 31
Survey 5
State
Processing
Closes
October 11
Final Updates
are Due
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Adjusting the Cohort
Proper documentation is
required for all withdrawals
and transfers.
(this number becomes the
denominator in your calculation)
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Counting the Graduates
Standard diplomas only
W06, W6A, W6B, WFA, WFB,
WFT, WFW, W43, and W52
(this number becomes the numerator
in your calculation)
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Calculating the Graduation Rate
Number of Standard Diplomas
÷
Number in Adjusted Cohort
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What About the Others?
Non-Graduates
•
•
•
•
Special Diplomas
GED based diplomas
Certificates of Completion
Students who do not graduate on time
Dropouts
• DNEs, W05, W13-W23
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2011-12 Cohort by
Withdrawal Code Category
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Closing comments
1. Ensure cleaner and more accurate current
year data is submitted.
2. Resolve DNEs as soon as possible.
3. Routinely follow up on dropouts using the
tools available.
4. Determine the manager/coordinator for this
process at the district level.
5. Share all communications with any and all
staff involved in the process.
6. Don’t wait until the last minute.
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Resources
• Technical Guide to the Cohort Four-Year
Graduation Rate Calculations online at
http://www.fldoe.org/eias/dataweb/tech.asp.
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Questions
Contact:
Cyndi Holleman
[email protected]
850-245-9913
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