WI State Performance Plan (SPP), Indicator #1

Graduation Rates

Indicator 1: Percent of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the state graduating with a regular diploma. For more detailed information regarding this indicator, please review Indicator #1 of the State Performance Plan.

Wisconsin has developed a Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring System (CIFMS) to achieve positive results for children with disabilities in Wisconsin while ensuring continued procedural compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. WDPI involves stakeholders in the ongoing development of CIFMS including the identification of priority areas for focused monitoring. This stakeholder group identified the gap in graduation rates between students with disabilities and students without disabilities as a priority for focused monitoring. As part of the CIFMS, WDPI created the Graduation Gap workgroup, whose primary responsibility is to develop and conduct focused monitoring activities around this priority area.

The requirements for obtaining a regular diploma in Wisconsin are the same for students with disabilities and for students without disabilities. A graduate is defined as a student who has met the requirements established by a school board for a prescribed course of study.

WDPI uses student outcome data to identify gaps in graduation rates between students with disabilities and students without disabilities in local educational agencies (LEAs). Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), WDPI has set a target graduation rate for all students of 98% by the 2013-2014 school year.

WDPI uses trend data over a three-year period to identify districts for focused monitoring. Wisconsin school districts have been divided into subgroups based upon their K-12 enrollment. The districts within each enrollment group most in need of improvement are selected for focused monitoring.

Data - District Profiles

Major Goals

1. Decrease the gap in graduation rates between students with disabilities and students without disabilities.
2. Decrease the dropout rate for students with disabilities.

Primary Objectives

• Promote development of positive school climates.
• Promote development of district policies and procedures that eliminate barriers to graduation for students with disabilities.
• Assist districts in understanding the relationship among qualified staff, adequate resources, and student achievement.
• Identify multiple options for student learning and school success.

Workgroup Members

• Judy O'Kane, Other Health Impaired, Co-chair
• Eva Kubinski, CIFMS, Co-chair
• Deb Bilzing, State Personnel Development Coordinator
• Pat Bober, Occupational Therapy; WI Statewide Parent Educator Initiative (WSPEI)
• Lynn Boreson, Emotional Behavioral Disabilities
• Sandy Corbett, Physical Therapy
• Steve Gilles, Transition, Comprehensive System of Personnel Development
• Mary Peters, Early Childhood Special Education
• Suzan Van Beaver, Cross Categorical; Leadership

Partnerships

• National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM)

Resources

• Focused Monitoring Manual
• National Post School Outcomes Center
• National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
• National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center
• Exiting Community of Practice
• Wisconsin State Improvement Grant
• High School Task Force

For questions about this information, contact Judy K. O'Kane (608) 267-3748 or Eva Kubinski (608) 266-2899.

Last updated on 6/12/2008 7:50:45 AM