The graduation rates formula for the United States of America has changed and not just Truman is suffering because of it. Before the formula change, Truman’s graduation rate for the 2010-2011 school year was 91.2 percent. 

Now with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) new rates formula change, the school’s graduation rate is 74.6 percent. The state’s graduation rate is also suffering. Before the formula change the state’s graduation rate for the 2010-2011 school year was 86.4 percent. After the new formula was implemented the state’s graduation rate has dropped to 79.8 percent.

The formula change is explained on the website www.dese.mo.gov.

“The current graduation rate calculation defines the cohort upon graduation,” Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (MODESE) said. “Which may include students who take more than four years to graduate from high school. The new rate is calculated using the number of students who graduate within four years and includes adjustments for student transfers.”

One teacher and three members of the counseling staff at the school were asked for interviews and declined due to confusion and lack of understanding on the topic.

“I think teachers and counselors aren’t confident on their knowledge of it,” Principal Kristel Barr said. “(The new formula) devalues things.”

The biggest difference between the two rate calculations is that in one, anyone who graduates in any length of time is put into the graduated side of the formula. In the second, a student will only be counted as a percentage towards graduate if they graduate within four years of entering high school.

Senior Emily Sheppard believes the rate change is due to the course work.

“I think the curriculum here is easy to pass so it’s surprising that so many people don’t graduate in four years,” Sheppard said. “Maybe the rates changed to make it more strict. So people will be more responsible with their time.”

Factors in a student’s life that can cause them to be unsuccessful in graduating high school in four years or less may include: working for a job, being involved in sports, being heavily depended on in the home front, and putting other situations and tasks at more of an importance and priority that school life. 

The effects of students not graduating in four years or less because of circumstantial complications or failure to pass their classes without outwardly circumstantial complications is a negative result for the school either way. 

Although formulas and situations may be altered to better give students a fair chance in making their way to their diploma.

“I think if you’re working hard but you can’t pass your classes that’s another story (different from)slacking off,” Sheppard said. “Graduating is important. People might see you as non-intelligent if you don’t graduate.”

The official description of MODESE is that they are the administrative arms of the State Board of Education.

“It is primarily a service agency that works with educators, legislators, government agencies, community leaders and citizens to maintain a strong public education system,” MODESE said. “Through its statewide school-improvement activities and regulatory functions, the Department strives to assure that all citizens have access to high-quality public education.”

MODESE employs a total of 1,700 workers throughout the state.

“The Department has a total budget of about $5.4 billion,” MODESE said. “About 96 percent of the budget consists of state and federal funds that are distributed to local school districts and other agencies.”

A large, positive, intended, result of the rate changes is that MODESE is more able to fully address it’s responsibilities to deliver services to schools in a coordinated, efficient system.

All of these stated responsibilities are only directed towards organizations of education that are formally classified as public school education.

“The Department does not regulate, monitor or accredit private, parochial or home schools,” MODESE said.

Historically when schools, campuses, districts, and states use varying rates to determine graduation rates of schools, etc., it creates inconsistent data.

This is one of the major reasons DESE decided to formally change the graduation rate formula to a specific formula that all schools and districts in Missouri are required to use for the federal record.

“Historically states have calculated graduation rates using varying methods creating inconsistent data from one state to the next,” MODESE Leigh Ann Grant-Engle Assistant Commissioner in office of data system management said in a virtual news conference for graduation rates on the found at http://dese.mo.gov/webinar/documents/NewGraduationRateDSM11-09-11.pdf.

Ms. Grant-Engle’s office is responsible for the collecting and reporting of data in public schools across Missouri.

“This is very different from how most states traditionally calculate graduation rates,” Ms. Grant-Engle said in the news conference. “Federal and state education leaders anticipate that the more rigorous method will result in lower reported graduation rates, yet it will reflect a uniform method account for reliable comparisons among states.”

Administrators and counselors continually monitor students to determine whether they are being recorded as graduated with their class or left behind. Although the new graduation rate formula has been formally released and is currently being required for use as the all-around formula on graduation rates, the older formula will still be collecting information.

A possible explanation for this could be that MODESE wants to use both formulas so that they can approximately determine how much of a school’s percentage is made up by students that take more than four years to graduate from high school.

“For now, Missouri’s new four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate will be reported in addition to its current graduation rate,” MODESE said in the news conference.

The news conference explained how graduation rates are affected by transfer students as well.

“From the beginning of ninth grade, students who are entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently ‘adjusted’ by adding any students who transfer into the cohort later during the ninth grade and the next three years, and subtracting any students who transfer out,” MODESE said.

This way a specific organization will not have their final graduation rate for that year be damaged by the act of a student leaving a school and being counted as a non-graduate. Also this fairly congratulates schools that acquire new students who graduate in four years or less because they will count toward that school’s percentage of graduating students.

A controversy on when the current rate will start being recorded was formally discussed by DESE in a virtual news conference on Nov. 17, 2011, days before the four-year high school graduation rate was announced.

“The U.S. Department of Education requires all states and districts (or local education agencies to publicly report the “new” high school graduation rate beginning with the 2010-11 Report Card, which is required to be published by Dec. 1, 2011,” DESE said in the conference.

To sum up, the new graduation rate is being implemented currently, and has already been federally recorded from all of Missouri’s public education establishments.

The results of the graduation rate calculations from both formulas will be publicly available on MODESE’s website.

“In Missouri, the new high school graduation rate will be reported online at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website,” MODESE said.

On the Texas Education Agency website there is a section regarding information on Adequate Yearly Progress System (AYP) that contains the five alternatives that are approved by US Department of Education for the districts and campuses to meet the criteria.

“The formula used to calculate this rate has been standardized, each state implements the rate for AYP accountability in accordance with its individual U.S. Department of Education approved accountability workbook,” DESE said.

The five alternatives include: 1)a statewide 4-year longitudinal Graduation Rate goal of 90 percent, 2) a 4-year Annual Graduation Rate Target of 75 percent, 3) a 4-year Graduation Rate Alternatives that includes, a Safe Harbor Target 4) a 10 percent decrease in difference between the prior year 4-year Graduation Rate and the 90 percent statewide goal and an Improvement Target and 5) a 1 percent increase from the prior year 4-year Graduation Rate, and a 5-year longitudinal Annual Graduation Rate Target of 80 percent.

Though this does not mean the policy on students graduating early will not change in the future.

“In the current implementation the student is included in the numerator along with the rest of that student’s 9th grade cohort graduates,” MODESE said.

On the other end of the scale, a plan has been created on how to count senior students as graduates if they make up their credits in the coming summer.

“Students who catch up their credits during summer school can be reported as graduates in the prior year,” DESE said. “Therefore, can be counted as graduating on time.”

Students that spend the summer after their senior year making up credits in summer school will be counted as a graduate for the prior year in that summer’s MOSIS June reporting cycle.

Key characteristics of graduation documentation have changed but arguably the most important characteristic of the documentation of graduation rates is the documentation itself. 

DESE will continue to be collecting reports over the results of Missouri’s schools and campuses graduation rates and trends on the time frame of students graduating.

Ms. Barr is concerned the school will not see the origional scores from before the formula change.

“I don’t know that we will (return to the former rate),” Ms. Barr said. “I’m about getting across the stage whenever you choose to.”