1.00
REGULATORY AUTHORITY
1.01 These rules shall
be known as Arkansas Department of Education Rules governing in state reporting
of dropout and graduation rates.
1.02 These rules are enacted pursuant to the
State Board of Education's authority under Arkansas Code
6-11-105 and
Act 104 of the 84th General Assembly Second
Extraordinary Session.
2.00 PURPOSE
2.01 It is the purpose of these rules to
establish guidelines for determining and reporting dropout and graduation rates
for in state reporting purposes.
3.00 DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of these rules:
3.01 "Census" is the student count reported
to the Arkansas Department of Education through the Arkansas Public School
Computer Network as the October 1 student enrollment.
3.02 "Transferring out of the school" means
that the school has evidence/documentation that the student has enrolled in
another public, private, or home school.
4.00 PROCESS FOR DETERMINING DROPOUTS
Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, the following process will be
used by each school to determine the number of dropouts:
4.01 On or before October 1 of each school
year, a public school shall conduct a census of all students enrolled at the
school to arrive at a school enrollment census total for each grade.
4.02 The number of students transferring into
the school after the October 1 census but before the end of the school year
shall be added to the October 1 census total for each grade.
4.03 The number of students transferring out
of the school after the October 1 census but before the end of the school year
shall be subtracted from the October 1 census total for each grade.
4.04 The number of students incarcerated,
deceased, or graduating early will be subtracted from the October 1 census
total for each grade.
4.05 Each
school shall maintain separate records regarding students who, after October 1
of each school year, leave the public school system to be home schooled under
Arkansas Code §
6-15-503.
5.00 DETERMINING THE DROPOUT RATE
Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, the school enrollment census
total, as calculated and adjusted under section
4.00 shall be used to determine
the dropout rate for each school as follows:
5.01 For grades kindergarten through eleven
(K-11), the school enrollment census total for each grade of the current school
year is compared to the school enrollment census total for each of the previous
grades of the previous school year.
5.02 For grade twelve (12), the current
school year school enrollment census total for grade twelve (12) is compared to
the school enrollment census total for grade eleven (11) of the previous year.
5.02.1 An example of the calculation used to
determine the dropout rate for grades 9 through 12 is as follows:
5.02.1 (a) If the number of dropouts for
grade nine was 1 and the Oct 1 enrollment was 56:
The 9th grade dropout rate is 1/56 = .0179 or 1.79%
5.02.1 (b) If the number of dropouts for
grade 10 was 2 and the Oct 1 enrollment was 60:
The 10th grade dropout rate is 2/60 = .0333
or 3.33%
5.02.1 (c) If the
number of dropouts for grade 11 was 4 and the Oct 1 enrollment was 54:
The 11th grade dropout rate is 4/54 = .0741
or 7.41%
5.02.1 (d) If the
number of dropouts for grade 12 was 3 and the Oct 1 enrollment was 57:
The 12th grade dropout rate is 3/57 = .0526
or 5.26%
6.00 DETERMINING THE GRADUATION OR COMPLETION
RATE
6.01 The graduation rate, as defined by
the Department of Education, shall be tracked for students in grades nine
through twelve (9-12).
6.02 The
graduation rate indicates the percentage of students enrolled during grade 9
through 12, and completing grade 12 without dropping out
6.02.1 An example of the calculation to
determine the graduation rate using the sample dropout calculation rate in
Section 5 is as follows:
6.02.1 (a) Step 1:
Calculate the completion rate for grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 for the students in
the graduating class by subtracting the dropout rate of each grade from 1.
Grade 09: (1 - .0179) = .9821
Grade 10: (1 - .0333) = .9667
Grade 11: (1 - .0741) = .9259
Grade 12: (1 - .0526) = .9474
6.02.1(b) Step 2: Multiply all four
completion rates together. (.9821) (.9667)(.9259)(.9474) = .8328
6.02.1(c) Step 3: Multiply the results in
Step 2 by 100 to indicate the percentage.(.8328) (IOO) = 83.28 or an 83.3%
graduation rate.
7.00 REPORTING GRADUATION AND COMPLETION
RATES
7.01 Beginning with the 2004-2005
school year, each school will report to the Arkansas Department of Education
(ADE) the dropout rate for each grade within the school in a format designated
by the ADE.
7.02 Beginning with the
2004-2005 school year, each school with a grade 12 will report to the Arkansas
Department of Education (ADE) the graduation rate for the school in a format
designated by the ADE.