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Home > Data Center > Student Data > Graduation Cohort Validation Report Instructions

updated 8/16/2011 ... rb
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Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
& Dropout Instructions

How to Validate Graduation Cohort Data

Validating Graduation Cohort Data
The validation of all four areas needed to calculate the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) is accomplished through the Graduation Cohort Validation Report located in Infinite Campus State Edition (ICSE).

Personnel with the role of “SAU Admin” may access this report by logging into the Infinite Campus State Edition and following the steps below:
Infinite Campus State Edition Log In website: https://maine.infinitecampus.org/campus/mese.jsp

  1. Enter your Username and Password, and click “Sign In”.
  2. Next to “Year”, select “10-11”.
  3. Select the name of your high school in the school drop down.
  4. Under the “Index tab”, “ME State Reporting/Graduation Certification Reports”, then click on Graduation Cohort Validation Report.
  5. Just above the “Generate Report” button, there is an additional year drop down, select 2011 from this drop down.
  6. Click on “Generate Report”.

At this point a dialog box will appear on your screen with the question “Do you want to open or save this file?”  We recommend that you “save” this file to an appropriate place on your computer or network drive. This report is in Microsoft Excel format.

The Graduation Cohort Validation Report lists all students with a cohort of 2011. These students were 9th graders for the first time somewhere in 2007/08. The report is sorted alphabetically by last name. The next eight columns after the student’s last name are as follows: (note: see section below titled “Definitions of Certification Reports” for a list of definitions.)

  • Student Cohort Year – school year student was in 9th grade for the 1st time
  • School Cohort – 1 if student was in grade 9 for the 1st time in your school in 2007/08. Otherwise 0
  • Transfer In – 1 for each occurrence a student transfers into your school with an accurate exit code which translates to a transfer in.
  • Transfer Out – 1 for each occurrence a student transfer out from your school with an accurate exit code which translates to a transfer out.
  • Graduated (code15) – 1 for each student who receives a Maine Learning Results High School diploma and has an exit code 15. Students who receive a GED or an Adult-Ed diploma do not meet this requirement.
  • Validate – see Which students should I focus on? below.
  • Dropout – 1 for each student who has been counted as a dropout in any previous year within the 4 years of this ACGR calculation.
  • Year dropped out – If there is a 1 in the above column, the school year student was recorded as being a dropout.

The number in each of these columns is based on data reported to the department. To the right of these eight columns are seven additional columns. These are the columns that the school uses to validate each student on this report. Validate the student by looking each student up in Infinite Campus or your local SIS system. If the number differs from the respective number to the left, put your proposed change in the number in the cells under the School Validation section. For example, if the State has 2 transfer-ins listed but you feel there should only be one transfer-in, put a '-1' in the Transfer-in column in the School Validation to the right. IMPORTANT: if any of your numbers differ from its corresponding number to the left, be sure to enter a brief explanation in the School comments section. Not only will this help in determining your request but also will assist the department in determining which students you are requesting a change. DO NOT modify any data in the first eight columns.

Which students should I focus on?
The Graduation Cohort Validation Report can be quite cumbersome upon first inspection. This year, we have added a column called ‘Validate’. The students who do NOT have a 0 (zero) in this column, are the ones which are hurting your ACGR and therefore are the ones you should probably look more closely at. The formula used to determine this is School Cohort + TransferIn – TransferOut – Graduated= Validate.

For example, if you have a ‘1’ in the validate column, more than likely the student is a dropout and you should also see a ‘1’ in the dropout column. If there is a ‘1’ in the Validate column and there is NOT a ‘1’ in the dropout column, there is definitely an error somewhere which you should investigate.

The totals for each column at the bottom are the counts that will be used in calculating your ACGR. If you re-total your own modifications, you can estimate what your new ACGR will be (assuming all your change requests are approved). The formula is as follows:

 

Grad Rate Formula

 

The students listed on the Graduation Cohort Validation Report are the students listed in the corresponding certification reports. For example, if there are 50 students listed in the Transfer In column, the Cohort Transfer In report in ICSE should list 50 students.

Once you have completed the validation of the Graduation Cohort Validation Report, email the Excel spreadsheet to Richard.Bergeron@maine.gov.

You will receive a confirmation email once your validation report is received. In addition, once the report has been examined, you will then receive another email. This email will either state all your requested changes were accepted or it will contain your spreadsheet(s) with the department’s comments explaining which records were not accepted and why.

At this point, if you were requested to supply additional information to complete the validation, please do so. Once the results have been returned, you then must go through the process of certification. Certification must be completed within 2 weeks of receiving the MDOE’s responses to your initial requests.


Certifying Adjusted Cohort Graduation Reports
Once both the department and the school agree with the data listed on the Graduation Cohort Validation Report and the Dropout Validation Report, the school then needs to go back into ICSE and print off the following reports for the Superintendent to sign: (do not do this until you receive confirmation that your Graduation Cohort Validation Report have been finalized but no later than two weeks after the MDOE response to your initial filing)

  1. Cohort Report
  2. Cohort Transfer In
  3. Cohort Transfer Out
  4. Completers Report

Once these are signed, please fax all pages to Richard Bergeron at 207-512-1150.

Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Due Dates:

  • September 30, 2011 – School validation of the Graduation Cohort Validation Report emailed as an attachment to Richard.Bergeron@maine.gov.
  • 2 weeks after MDOE replies to this report – Four certification forms listed above need to be signed and faxed to Richard Bergeron at 207-512-1150.

How to Validate Dropout Data

Validating and Certifying Dropouts
In addition to the Graduation Cohort Validation Report, you will also see another report called Dropout Validation Report. This validation is not due until October 15, 2011. Since this report lists all dropouts from the 2010/11 school year, some of these students are not part of the 2011 cohort and therefore this data is not actually needed to calculate your ACGR which is why it is not due the same time as the other graduation reports. While the Graduation Cohort Validation Report also lists dropouts, it only lists the dropouts who are part of the cohort. The Dropout Validation Report lists all dropouts for that school year whether they were part of the cohort or not. Please use Dropout Validation Report Excel spreadsheet to validate your dropouts.

To validate the data on the Dropout Validation Report, look up the students listed. They appear on the report because the exit code applied to that student’s enrollment record correlates to being a dropout. If the exit code is incorrect, but the code you are requesting it be changed to in the column “Change Exit Code To”. You may want to refer to the list of approved exit codes here:

http://www.maine.gov/education/medms/Data/ExitType/ExitTypeCodes.htm

Who is required to complete the Dropout Validation Report?
The Dropout Validation Report is required to be submitted by all School Administrative Units which contain schools that have any grades 7 through 12. The Dropout Validation Report is to be completed at the District level. Do not submit a report for each school. Submit only one report per District. Note: the dropouts you certify on the Dropout Validation Report, may affect the dropouts listed in future years on the Graduation Cohort Validation Report. Once the data has been certified on the Dropout Report, it cannot be changed in future years on the Graduation Cohort Validation Report.

You should submit your requested changes on the Dropout Validation Report no later than October 15, 2011 to Richard.Bergeron@maine.gov. Once your file has been reviewed, you will receive an email reply. At that point if you agree with the Department's reply, you then need to print off the dropout certification report called Dropout Report and have it signed and faxed to 207-512-1150.

Dropout Validation and Certification Due Dates:

  • October 15, 2011 – School validation of the Dropout Validation Report emailed as an attachment to Richard.Bergeron@maine.gov.
  • 2 weeks after MDOE replies to this report – The Dropout Report needs to be signed and faxed to Richard Bergeron at 207-512-1150.

Definitions of Certification Reports:
Cohort Report – a list of students who were first time 9th graders in the year selected. This report is in PDF format and is used for certification purposes only. Students can only appear on this list once. Not all graduating students will be on this list. Students who transfer into Maine during their high school years will not appear on any one school’s Cohort Report. Rather, these students will appear on the Transfer In Report.

Cohort Transfer In – a list of students who transferred into the school who were 9th graders for the first time in the year selected. This report is in PDF format and is used for certification purposes only. These students may be on the list more than once if the student left and came back to the same school more than once during their four years of high school.

Cohort Transfer Out – a list of students who transferred out of the school who were 9th graders for the first time in the year selected. This report is in PDF format and is used for certification purposes only. These students may be on the list more than once if the student left and came back to the same school more than once during their four years of high school.

Completers Report – a complete list of students who graduated with a regular diploma (exit code 15) or completed school with other credentials (exit code 16). In addition, the students listed on this report will show the cohort year assigned to this student. This report is in PDF format and is used for certification purposes only. Even though this report displays all completers, only students with a cohort of 2011 and an exit code 15 are counted for the purpose of the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR).

Graduation Cohort Validation Report - This report is used for the validation (not certification) of all students who are part of the 2010/11 cohort year. It combines the data from the Cohort Report, Cohort Transfer-In Report, Cohort Transfer-Out Report and Completers Report.

Dropout Validation Report - a list of all students who were determined to be dropouts during the 2010/11 school year. This report is in Excel format and is the same students listed in the PDF version Dropout Report.

Dropout Report – a list of all students who were determined to be dropouts during the 2010/11 school year. This report is in PDF format and is used for certification purposes only. To certify dropouts, print, sign and fax to 207-512-1150 no later than 2 weeks after you receive the MDOE response to your submitted Dropout Validation Report.

Dropouts are defined in Title 20-A:
Part 3: ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, Chapter 211: ATTENDANCE
Subchapter 3: DROPOUTS §5102. Definitions:
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/Statutes/20-A/title20-Asec5102.html.

As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, a "dropout" means any person who has withdrawn for any reason except death, or been expelled from school before graduation or completion of a program of studies and who has not enrolled in another educational institution or program.

 

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