Helping states define graduation rates

One third of students who enter high school do not graduate, thus facing limited job prospects. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that states use graduation rates to measure how well students are educated. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today issued a report on how the Dept. of Education can help states better define graduation rates and evaluate intervention strategies to raise graduation rates.

Twelve states use the cohort definition that tracks students from when they enter high school to when they leave. Because this is a more precise definition than others, a majority of states plan to use this by school year 2007-08.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: Education Could Do More to Help States Better Define Graduation Rates and Improve Knowledge about Intervention Strategies
      Full report (PDF, 5.3MB, 67p., from GAO)
      Highlights (PDF, 372KB, 1p., from GAO)
      Abstract (HTML)