FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 14, 2005

For More Information, Contact:
Jonathan Burman, or Tom Dunn, or Alan Ray at (518) 474-1201
Internet: http://www.nysed.gov

The State Education Department has produced data for the following:

1.  Data for each district for total students who first entered grade 9 in 2000-2001 concerning how many students had graduated, dropped out, were still enrolled, or transferred to GED within four years by June 2004.

2.  Data for each district showing Regents examination performance after four years for total students and for general education students who entered grade 9 in 2000-2001. Included is the percent in score ranges 1-54, 55-64, 65-100, and not tested.

You can see the data today on our website:

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/school-accountability/2005/2000cohort/

The individual school district graduation data and Regents examination data being made available today (all students who entered grade 9 in 2000-2001) have not been calculated and made available before. However, the statewide and need/resource group data (including New York City) were released in March 2005. The district cohort being reported on here is larger than the district accountability cohort, which is used under NCLB and is the basis of each districts report card data. As reported earlier, a student must be in a school district for at least two years to be included in the accountability cohort used under NCLB and the School Report Cards. By contrast, the data being released today is for all students who were in a district at any time during the four years - unless they transferred to another district during that time. For example, a student who moved in to a district during his or her fourth year of high school would be counted as being enrolled in that district, even though most of the students education took place elsewhere, as would a student who dropped out during the first two years of that four years.

In addition, the graduation data being made available today are different from the report card data in another respect. The District Report Cards for 2003-2004 (issued in March 2005) show graduation rates for students who entered 9th grade in 1999-2000 and graduated no later than August 2003. Under NCLB, school districts are held accountable for four-year graduation rates ending in August. The district data released today show data for students who entered grade 9 in 2000-2001 and graduated no later than June 2004. Additional students graduate during the summer (frequently more than five percent). Therefore, the data released today cannot be compared with the 1999 graduation cohort data in the March 2005 report cards.

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