Understanding High School Completion Data

Cautions | Definitions | Calculating Rates | Sources of Data | Using WINSS

Cautions

Formulas for calculating high school graduation and completion rates have changed over time. The most recent changes occurred in 2003-04 (with the implementation of Wisconsin's Individual Student Enrollment System) and 2009-10 (with implementation of a federally required 4-year adjusted cohort formula). Rates calculated using different formulas have different meanings and are not otherwise comparable.
Four-year adjusted cohort rates are expected to be lower than legacy rates calculated using the 2003-04 formula. This is because the 2003-04 legacy-rate formula includes students continuing until age 21, some of whom took longer than four-years to complete high school. Other formula differences exist which, in rare situations, may result in four-year rates being higher than legacy rates.
2003-04 was a year of transition to a new dropout and high school completion data collection, the Individual Student Enrollment System, and as a result:
- Rates for 2003-04 and later years include students in the denominator about whom data are being collected for the first time. Rates will have a different meaning and will tend to be lower than rates for years prior to 2003-04.
- 2003-04 high school completion data and other data (such as dropouts) used in the calculation of rates may not be comprehensive in this transition year. Implementation in some districts was more difficult than in other districts and there are likely to be some continuing data reliability issues in 2004-05.
WINSS is not the only source of high school completion and graduation rates. Other sources, including pre-1998-99 editions of the Wisconsin School Performance Report, use a variety of formulas to estimate rates. WINSS and most other sources attempt to estimate the rate in a way consistent with perceived community definitions of this rate. Comparability of rates is complicated not only by variations in the formula used, but also by variations across schools and over time (e.g. in mobility, grade placement policies, populations served, grade ranges served, graduation standards, etc). All rates rely heavily on the effectiveness of student tracking systems and the reliability of data collected from districts and schools.

How are high school graduate and high school completer defined?

A "high school graduate" is any student who received a regular high school diploma. A regular high school diploma is defined by federal regulations 34 CFR §200.19(b)(1)(iv). In Wisconsin, any diploma granted by a school board that meets the requirements of §118.33 (1) (a) or (d), Stats is considered to be a regular diploma.

A "high school completer" is any student who received any type of high school completion credential. All high school graduates are high school completers but not all high school completers are high school graduates.

Note that for WINSS purposes, the "graduation rate" is also known as the "completion rate - regular diploma" and the "high school completion rate" is also known as "completion rate - all credentials combined."

How are graduation rates and high school completion rates calculated?

Beginning with 2009-10, four-year adjusted cohort rates are calculated as follows:

Graduation Rate: number of students in the cohort who graduate (regular diploma) within four years divided by the number of students who form the four-year adjusted cohort for the graduating class.
High School Completion Rate: number of students in the cohort who complete high school (any credential) within four years divided by the number of students who form the four-year adjusted cohort for the graduating class.

The "number of students who form the four-year adjusted cohort for the graduating class" is the denominator used to calculate four-year graduation and completion rates. This number is the "total expected to complete high school" by the year of the rate consistent with the four-year timeframe. Students are assigned to one and only one statewide cohort when they first begin high school in Wisconsin public schools. Students are not counted in the graduation or completion rate until the end of the four-year timeframe for their assigned cohort. At the end of the four-year timeframe, adjustments are made to remove any non-graduate from the cohort if the student transferred out, emigrated to another country, or is deceased prior to the end of the four-year timeframe.

Beginning with 2003-04, legacy rates (by age 21) are calculated as follows:

Graduation Rate: number of graduates (regular diploma) divided by the total number of students expected to complete high school, expressed as a percentage.
High School Completion Rate: number of high school completers (any credential) divided by the total number of students expected to complete high school in that year, expressed as a percentage.

"The total number of students expected to complete high school" is the denominator used to calculate legacy graduation and completion rates and is the sum of

the dropouts over four years (also known as cohort dropouts) plus
students who reached the maximum age without completing high school plus
high school completers (any credential).

Prior to 2003-04, these rates were calculated as follows:

Graduation Rate: number of regular diploma recipients (i.e. graduates) divided by the sum of the dropouts over four years plus the number of regular diploma recipients, expressed as a percentage. All pre-2003-04 data on WINSS use this definition. Graduation rate is also known as the Completion Rate - Regular Diploma.
High School Completion Rate: not available. Data were not available to calculate high school completion rates prior to 2003-04.

Does WI have future plans to publish extended-year adjusted cohort rates?

Yes. Wisconsin plans to publish six-year adjusted cohort rates when sufficient data are available from our tracking system to do so. See Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rates for relevant formulas and definitions.

Seven years of comprehensive high quality data from a student level tracking system is required to calculate the six-year adjusted cohort rates. 2004-05 was the first full school year of Wisconsin's student level tracking system, and the data from that year were not comprehensive. Wisconsin intends to calculate six-year rates after data are available for the 2011-12 school year, by spring of 2013.

The formula for the six-year rate will be conceptually similar to the 2003-04 legacy formula although some changes will be necessary to meet new federal requirements.

What are the sources of graduation and high school completion data?

Beginning with 2003-04, data used in calculating graduation and completion rates are collected as part of the Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES) unless otherwise indicated below:

Until 2006-07 dropout data are available through ISES, some of the cohort dropout data by gender by race/ethnicity and by disability come from the School Performance Report aggregate collection. Some of the dropout data used in the 2006-07 cohort dropout count came from ISES and some from a separate one-time aggregate collection of 2003-04 summer dropout counts.
Beginning in 2007-08 all cohort dropout data come from ISES.

Prior to 2003-04, all data used in the calculation of graduation rates (AKA "completion rate - regular diploma") come from the School Performance Report aggregate collection.

See Understanding Dropout Data for more information about how dropout data are collected.

"Total enrollment grade 12" comes from DPI enrollment data collections and is provided for reference purposes only. Grade 12 enrollment is a fall count and is not used in the calculation of graduation or completion rates because it does not reflect cohort dropouts, in and out transfers after fall, or students who reached the maximum age.

Where can I get more information about using data on WINSS?

For more information about the WINSS Data Analysis Section, see Data Analysis Section - Frequently Asked Questions and/or Tips for First-time Users of the Data Analysis Section

You can download all data on WINSS for any specific WINSS data question. When data are updated on WINSS the download files are also updated. Links are provided near the bottom of WINSS graph pages. See WINSS Download Options for more information.

High school completion and graduation data are publicly reported annually by public schools through the School Performance Report (SPR).

See the Data Errata page for corrections submitted by school districts after final publication of WINSS and other reports.

For questions about this information, contact dpistats@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-3166

Last updated on 12/16/2011 7:19:39 AM