Kentucky Grad Rates Up a Scosh

The public high school graduation rate for the 2010-11 school year improved slightly over the rate for the previous year. The statewide Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) for the 2010-11 school year was 78 percent, an increase from 2009-10’s 76.7 percent. (Graduation rate data is lagged by one year for accountability purposes.) AFGRs for males, females and all but one ethnic group also improved.

 

AVERAGED FRESHMAN GRADUATION RATE – 2008 THROUGH 2011*

YEAR	TOTAL	MALE	FEMALE	WHITE	AFRICAN AMERICAN	HISPANIC	ASIAN
2010-11	78.0%	74.4%	81.8%	79.1%	71.3%	83.6%	98.1%
2009-10	76.7%	73.0%	80.8%	77.9%	70.1%	74.7%	100.0%
2008-09	75.1%	70.9%	79.6%	76.3%	66.1%	73.8%	91.8%
2007-08	75.0%	70.5%	79.9%	75.9%	66.8%	70.5%	98.5%

 

*NOTE: The AFGR data for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are provided for comparison purposes. Comparisons between formerly reported graduation rates, which used the Leaver Formula, and AFGR-derived data should not be made due to the differences in those formulas.

 

            Four high schools had 100 percent AFGRs for the 2010-11 school year:

·         Augusta Independent School

·         Beechwood High (Beechwood Ind.)

·         Burgin High (Burgin Ind.)

·         Fairview High (Fairview Ind.)

 

AFGR data for individual schools and districts can be found at

http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/Testing+and+Reporting+/Reports/Nonacademic+Data/2011+Graduation+Rate+Data.htm

 

The United States Department of Education (USED) approves graduation rate formulas that states use to generate federal reports. USED expects all states to eventually use the Cohort formula, which provides data for a specific graduating class from the time students are 9th graders until they graduate. Until the Cohort formula is available for Kentucky, the USED requires Kentucky to use the AFGR. The AFGR will be Kentucky’s graduation rate formula until the cohort graduation rate can be calculated, beginning with 2013 graduates.

The AFGR formula divides the average of prior years’ 9th- and 10th-grade membership (enrollment) by the number of four-year diploma and more-than-four-year diploma recipients in the current reporting year. Students with disabilities whose Individual Education Plans enable them to take more than four years to obtain a diploma are included in this calculation.

AFGR Formula

The number of ’10-11 graduates with diploma in 4 years + graduates with diploma allowed 4+ years by IEP, x 100

 

Divided By

 

Grade 9 Membership ‘07‐08 School Year + Grade 10 Membership ’08‐09 School Year, divided by 2

 

Equals

 

Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate

 

            There are several factors that can impact AFGR data. The formula is based on the assumption that membership/enrollment is consistent over time. The formula does not take into account district or community factors that may have caused a loss in population over four years, and those factors can negatively impact the AFGR. Also, a gain in population may impact the AFGR positively.

For this data release, 31 school districts that have district or community factors that have negatively impacted their AFGR. A list of districts and factors can be found in the document District Factors Impacting the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), which is available here.

Complete details on district and school graduation rates can be found in the Open House section of KDE’s website or by clicking on the item under “Headlines” on the agency’s homepage.

SOURCE: KDE Press release