The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) recently published its annual Report Card which provides an overview of standardized test results, student demographics, teacher information and financial data for school districts statewide.
When it comes to graduation rate, the 2012-13 Summary Report Card for all Washington state school districts identifies the adjusted four-year cohort graduation rate as 77.2% for the class of 2012.
According to OSPI, the adjusted four-year cohort graduation rate is defined as the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of 9th 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 9th grade and the next three years, and subtracting any students who transfer out, emigrate to another country, or die during that same period.
Though it represents a slight increase over the previous year’s rate of 76.6%, the flip side is that 22.8% of high school students in Washington state didn’t graduate on time last year—a clear call for continued work to keep kids in school and focused on graduation.
For OSPI’s individual school district report card information, select a district from the drop-down menu in the upper left of the summary page at reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us.