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, Dashboard Alternative School Status (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 General Education Diploma (GED). Are these students counted as graduates?
No. The U.S. Department of Education requires that only students who earn a regular diploma be counted as graduates. The General Education Diploma (GED) is not a regular high school diploma, and therefore students that earn it are not counted as graduates.
What is a regular high school diploma?
A regular high school diploma is a standard high school diploma or an alternative pathway diploma as referenced in California Education Code (EC) 51225.31 and 51225.32.
What is the alternative pathway diploma?
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 alternative pathway diploma is established in Education Code Sections 51225.31 and 51225.32. Under these laws, eligible students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are only required to meet California's statewide course requirements for graduation. Local educational agencies (LEAs) must exempt these students from any additional local graduation requirements. Eligible students who were enrolled in grade 9 in the 2022–23 school year or later may earn an alternate high school diploma if they meet the applicable requirements.
Does the alternative diploma count towards an LEA’s graduation rate on the California School Dashboard?
Yes. Students that earn the Alternative Pathway Diploma (and are exited in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) using the appropriate 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 ACGR.
For more information on this new pathway diploma, please refer to the August 25, 2023, correspondence from the California School Dashboard (CDE) Special Education Division as well as California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Flash #260.
I have a fourth-year senior who was in the Class of 2026. The student attended summer school and graduated on August 15, 2026. Will this student be included in the graduation rate for the Class of 2026?
Yes. Because August 15th is the cut-off date for students to be counted as a graduate in 2026, this student will be included as a graduate within four years and with the Class of 2026.
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 is part of the Class of 2027 but graduated a year early in grade eleven, then this student will not be counted in the Class of 2026 but included as a graduate in the Class of 2027.
Are students who transfer to an adult education program excluded from the denominator of the Dashboard Graduation Rate?
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" in the overall cohort results and excluded from the numerator of the Graduation Rate as well..
If my graduation rate is 93.461 percent, does it get rounded up to the nearest tenth?
Yes. The Dashboard rounds all values to the nearest tenth. 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 2022–23 and did not graduate by 2025–26, the student will be included in the denominator in 2025–26 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 2026–27 (i.e., 2027 Dashboard).
What is the definition of a long-term English Learner 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 (LTEL).
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 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.
I think the Dashboard is wrong for my school/LEA, the color on the Dashboard and on the 5x5 table are different given the status and change.
You may be referencing the incorrect reference table, as the Dashboard uses both 5x5 and 3x5 tables to determine colors. A three-by-five table is automatically applied when an LEA, school, or student group has fewer than 150 students in the current year denominator. This three-by-five table was implemented to prevent large swings in data year over year that are triggered by the results of just a few students, which can lead to an over-identification of schools in the Red and Blue Performance Levels.
The three-by-five colored table is created by removing two Change levels, ‘Increased Significantly’ and ‘Decreased Significantly’, thus limiting extreme changes when the count of students is small. The "What is the 3x5 Colored Table?" provides additional information and can be found on the Dashboard Toolkit web page.