Graduation Rate Indicator FAQs
Frequently asked questions relating to the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) Graduation Rate Indicator.Does the combined four- and five-year graduation rate apply to both Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) and non-DASS schools?
Yes. Beginning with the 2022 California School Dashboard, DASS schools receive the combined four- and five-year graduation rate and this rate is used to determine local educational agency (LEA) and school support (that is, Differentiated Assistance and Comprehensive Support and Improvement/Additional Targeted Support and Improvement). The one-year graduation rate, which was used prior to 2022 on the Dashboard, is provided for informational purposes only.
When a student transfers between two schools, is the student included in both schools’ graduation rate?
No. Only the last school where a student is enrolled is held accountable for the student’s graduation status.
I have several students who earned the GED. Are these students counted as graduates?
No. The U.S. Department of Education requires that only students who earn a standard diploma be counted as graduates.
I have a fourth-year senior who is in the Class of 2024. The student attended summer school and graduated on August 15, 2024. Will this student be included in the graduation rate for the Class of 2024?
Yes. Because August 15th is the cut-off date for students to be counted as a graduate in 2024, this student will be included as a graduate for the Class of 2024.
Are grade 11 early graduates counted in the year that they graduate?
No. These students are counted as graduates in the cohort that they belong to. For example, if the student was part of the Class of 2024 but graduated a year early in grade eleven, then this student will not be counted in the Class of 2023 but included as a graduate in the Class of 2024.
Are students who transfer to an adult education program excluded from the denominator?
No. Based on an audit by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, students who transfer to an adult education program or community college during their four or five-years of high school without earning a regular high school diploma are included in the cohort (denominator). These students are also counted as other transfers and excluded from the numerator.
If my graduation rate is 93.461 percent, does it get rounded up to the nearest tenth?
Yes. In this instance, a graduation rate of 93.461 is rounded up to 93.5 percent.
I have a student who moved in from another state and is in grade eleven. Will this student be placed in the cohort?
Yes. The cohort is adjusted by adding any student who may transfer in from out-of-state, a private school, or a different country as grade nine, grade ten, grade eleven, or grade twelve.
If, after four years, a student did not graduate, will the student be part of the denominator of the graduation rate at the end of the fourth year?
Yes. For example, if the student enrolled in 2020–21 and did not graduate by 2023–24, the student will be included in the denominator in 2022–23 but excluded from the numerator because the student did not graduate. However, if the student receives a standard high school diploma in the following year (as a fifth-year senior), the student will be included in both the numerator and denominator of the combined rate in 2024–25 (i.e., 2025 Dashboard).
What is the definition of a long-term English Learner (LTEL) student for the Graduation Rate Indicator?
A pupil who has not attained English language proficiency within 7 years of initial classification as an English learner is a long-term English learner.
Specifically for the Graduation Rate Indicator, students who have been an English Learner (EL) for 7+ years during the last four or five years in high school will be considered an LTEL.
If a long-term English learner (LTEL) reclassifies during their junior year, will they still be considered an LTEL?
Yes. A student that meets the LTEL criteria any time during the cohort period is counted as LTEL in the cohort.
What is the New Pathway to a High School Diploma for Students with Disabilities?
Under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), states now have the option to offer a state-defined alternate diploma to eligible students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and to count students receiving that alternate diploma as graduates in the state’s four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR).
In California, the new alternate diploma is established in Education Code (EC) Sections 51225.31 and 51225.32, which requires LEAs to exempt eligible students from graduation requirements that are additional to statewide course requirements, and to award an alternate high school diploma to those students who were enrolled in grade 9 or higher in the 2022–23 school year or later.
Does the alternative diploma count towards an LEA’s graduation rate on the California School Dashboard?
Yes. Students exiting with this School Completion Status Code within four or five years of their initial ninth grade cohort entry year will be counted as graduates in the Four-Year and Five-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate.
For more information on this new pathway diploma, please refer to the August 25, 2023, correspondence from the CDE Special Education Division as well as CALPADS Flash #260.