II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 767 

To improve the calculation of, the reporting of, and the accountability for, 

secondary school graduation rates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 2011 

Mr. HARKIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To improve the calculation of, the reporting of, and the 

accountability for, secondary school graduation rates. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Every Student Counts 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) In order for the United States to retain a 

9 competitive edge in the world economy, it is essential 

10 that youth in the United States be prepared for the 


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1 jobs of today and for the jobs of the future. Such 

2 jobs increasingly require postsecondary education, 

3 and according to a 2008 Department of Labor re4 port, almost 90 percent of the fastest growing and 

5 best paying jobs require some postsecondary edu6 cation. 

7 (2) Individuals without a regular secondary 

8 school diploma experience higher rates of unemploy9 ment, incarceration, poverty, and receipt of public 

10 assistance than individuals with a regular secondary 

11 school diploma. 

12 (3) According to the 2009 Center for Public 

13 Education report ‘‘Better late than never? Exam14 ining late high school graduates’’, on-time gradua15 tion with a regular secondary school diploma leads 

16 to the best outcomes for students, but students who 

17 graduate late with a regular secondary school di18 ploma are still more likely to earn an associate or 

19 a baccalaureate degree, to be employed full-time, 

20 and to obtain a job with retirement benefits and 

21 health insurance than are either students who drop 

22 out of secondary school or students who receive a 

23 GED. 

24 (4) About 1,300,000 secondary school students, 

which is approximately 1 25 ⁄3 of all secondary school 


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1 students in the United States, fail to graduate with 

2 their peers every year. According to the Department 

3 of Education, the United States secondary school 

4 graduation rate is only 75 percent. 

5 (5) The graduation rates for historically dis6 advantaged minority groups are far lower than that 

7 of their White peers. Little more than half of all Af8 rican-American and Hispanic students finish sec9 ondary school on time with a regular secondary 

school diploma, while more than 3 10 ⁄4 of White stu11 dents finish secondary school on time with a regular 

12 secondary school diploma. 

13 (6) Nearly 2,000 secondary schools (about 12 

14 percent of all secondary schools in the United 

15 States) produce about half of the Nation’s secondary 

16 school dropouts. In these schools, the number of sen17 iors is routinely 60 percent or less than the number 

18 of freshmen 3 years earlier. While 34 percent of the 

19 Nation’s African-American students and nearly 28 

20 percent of Latino students attend these ‘‘dropout 

21 factories’’, only 16 percent of White students do. 

22 (7) The average gap between State-reported 

23 graduation rates and independently reported gradua24 tion rates is approximately 11 percent. 


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1 (8) In 2005, all 50 of the Nation’s Governors 

2 signed the National Governors Association’s Gradua3 tion Rate Compact, pledging to use a common, accu4 rate graduation rate. 

5 (9) In 2008, the Secretary of Education re6 leased final regulations that also require States to 

7 report a common graduation rate calculation. How8 ever, since the Department of Education did not 

9 specify in the regulations what graduation rate goals 

10 and growth targets are appropriate and how States 

11 should include 4-year rates and extended year rates 

12 in calculating adequate yearly progress, it is nec13 essary to clarify these goals, targets and rates in 

14 order to create a meaningful Federal accountability 

15 system for secondary schools. 

16 (10) State-set targets to make adequate yearly 

17 progress under the Secretary of Education’s 2008 

18 regulations are numerous in type and varied in ag19 gressiveness. Twenty-eight States have set a gradua20 tion rate goal of less than 90 percent. At least 8 

21 States have set status targets that do not take into 

22 consideration progress toward the State-set goal. 

23 Furthermore, only 2 of the 9 States that include ex24 tended year rates in measures of adequate yearly 


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1 progress do so in a way that places a priority on 

2 graduating students within 4 years. 

3 (11) The most accurate graduation rate calcula4 tions rely on high-quality longitudinal data systems 

5 that track individual student data from the time a 

6 student enters kindergarten through the time such 

7 student finishes 12th grade. Forty-eight States plan 

8 to have data systems that will provide secondary 

9 school data that will allow such States to use the 

10 graduation rate formula specified in the Department 

11 of Education’s 2008 final regulations not later than 

12 the 2011–2012 school year. 

13 (12) An accountability system with meaningful 

14 graduation rate goals— 

15 (A) holds schools, school districts, and 

16 States responsible for both student achievement 

17 and outcomes; and 

18 (B) ensures that low-performing students 

19 are not unnecessarily held back or encouraged 

20 to leave school without a diploma. 

21 (13) Prior to the 2008 regulations, the amend22 ments to the Elementary and Secondary Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) made by the 

24 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 

25 107–110) did not require consistent calculations, 


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1 meaningful goals, or disaggregation of graduation 

2 rates. Without clear guidance from the Department 

3 of Education, most secondary schools can continue 

4 to make adequate yearly progress by making as little 

5 as 0.1 percent improvement or less in secondary 

6 school graduation rates each year and can do so 

7 with a consistent, or even growing, secondary school 

8 graduation gap among subgroups of students. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are— 

11 (1) to require consistent calculations and re12 porting of secondary school graduation rates across 

13 schools, school districts, and States; 

14 (2) to provide educators with critical informa15 tion about student progress toward secondary school 

16 graduation; and 

17 (3) to ensure meaningful accountability for the 

18 improvement of secondary school graduation rates 

19 for all students, particularly for poor and minority 

20 students. 

21 SEC. 4. SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES. 

22 Subpart 1 of part A of title I of the Elementary and 

23 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

24 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1111 (20 

25 U.S.C. 6311) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1111A. SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) ADJUSTED COHORT; ENTERING COHORT; 

4 TRANSFERRED INTO; TRANSFERRED OUT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ADJUSTED COHORT.—Subject to sub6 paragraphs (D)(ii) through (G), the term ‘ad7 justed cohort’ means the difference of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the entering cohort; plus 

10 ‘‘(II) any students that trans11 ferred into the cohort in any of grades 

12 9 through 12; minus 

13 ‘‘(ii) any students that are removed 

14 from the cohort as described in subpara15 graph (E). 

16 ‘‘(B) ENTERING COHORT.—The term ‘en17 tering cohort’ means the number of first-time 

18 9th graders enrolled in the secondary school 1 

19 month after the start of the secondary school’s 

20 academic year. 

21 ‘‘(C) TRANSFERRED INTO.—The term 

22 ‘transferred into’ when used with respect to a 

23 secondary school student, means a student 

24 who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) was a first-time 9th grader dur2 ing the same school year as the entering 

3 cohort; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) enrolls after the entering cohort 

5 is calculated as described in subparagraph 

6 (B). 

7 ‘‘(D) TRANSFERRED OUT.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘trans9 ferred out’ when used with respect to a 

10 secondary school student, means a student 

11 who the secondary school or local edu12 cational agency has confirmed has trans13 ferred— 

14 ‘‘(I) to another school from which 

15 the student is expected to receive a 

16 regular secondary school diploma; or 

17 ‘‘(II) to another educational pro18 gram from which the student is ex19 pected to receive a regular secondary 

20 school diploma. 

21 ‘‘(ii) CONFIRMATION REQUIRE22 MENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(I) DOCUMENTATION RE24 QUIRED.—The confirmation of a stu25 dent’s transfer to another school or 


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1 educational program described in 

2 clause (i) requires documentation 

3 from the receiving school or program 

4 that the student enrolled in the receiv5 ing school or program. 

6 ‘‘(II) LACK OF CONFIRMATION.— 

7 A student who was enrolled, but for 

8 whom there is no confirmation of the 

9 student having transferred out, shall 

10 remain in the cohort as a nongraduate 

11 for reporting and accountability pur12 poses under this section. 

13 ‘‘(iii) PROGRAMS NOT PROVIDING

14 CREDIT.—A student enrolled in a GED or 

15 other alternative educational program that 

16 does not issue or provide credit toward the 

17 issuance of a regular secondary school di18 ploma shall not be considered transferred 

19 out. 

20 ‘‘(E) COHORT REMOVAL.—To remove a 

21 student from a cohort, a school or local edu22 cational agency shall require documentation to 

23 confirm that the student has transferred out, 

24 emigrated to another country, or is deceased. 


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1 ‘‘(F) TREATMENT OF OTHER LEAVERS

2 AND WITHDRAWALS.—A student who was re3 tained in a grade, enrolled in a GED program, 

4 aged-out of a secondary school or secondary 

5 school program, or left secondary school for any 

6 other reason, including expulsion, shall not be 

7 considered transferred out, and shall remain in 

8 the adjusted cohort. 

9 ‘‘(G) SPECIAL RULE.—For those secondary 

10 schools that start after grade 9, the entering 

11 cohort shall be calculated 1 month after the 

12 start of the secondary school’s academic year in 

13 the earliest secondary school grade at the sec14 ondary school. 

15 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SETTING.— 

16 The term ‘alternative educational setting’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a secondary school or secondary 

18 school educational program that— 

19 ‘‘(i) is designed for students who are 

20 under-credited or have dropped out of sec21 ondary school; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) awards a regular secondary 

23 school diploma; or 

24 ‘‘(B) a secondary school or secondary 

25 school educational program designed to issue a 


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1 regular secondary school diploma concurrently 

2 with a postsecondary degree or not more than 

3 2 years of postsecondary education credit. 

4 ‘‘(3) CUMULATIVE GRADUATION RATE.—The 

5 term ‘cumulative graduation rate’ means, for each 

6 school year, the percent obtained by calculating the 

7 product of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the result of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the number of students 

11 who— 

12 ‘‘(aa) form the adjusted co13 hort; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) graduate in 4 years or 

15 less with a regular secondary 

16 school diploma (which shall not 

17 include a GED or other certifi18 cate of completion or alternative 

19 to a diploma except as provided 

20 in paragraph (6)(B)); plus 

21 ‘‘(II) the number of additional 

22 students from previous cohorts who 

23 graduate in more than 4 years with a 

24 regular secondary school diploma 

25 (which shall not include a GED or 


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1 other certificate of completion or al2 ternative to a diploma except as pro3 vided in paragraph (6)(B)); divided by 

4 ‘‘(ii) the sum of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the number of students who 

6 form the adjusted cohort for that 

7 year’s graduating class; plus 

8 ‘‘(II) the number of additional 

9 student graduates described in clause 

10 (i)(II); multiplied by 

11 ‘‘(B) 100. 

12 ‘‘(4) 4-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUATION

13 RATE.—The term ‘4-year adjusted cohort graduation 

14 rate’ means the percent obtained by calculating the 

15 product of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the result of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the number of students who— 

18 ‘‘(I) formed the adjusted cohort 4 

19 years earlier; and 

20 ‘‘(II) graduate in 4 years or less 

21 with a regular secondary school di22 ploma (which shall not include a GED 

23 or other certificate of completion or 

24 alternative to a diploma except as pro25 vided in paragraph (6)(B)); divided by 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of students who 

2 formed the adjusted cohort for that year’s 

3 graduating class 4 years earlier; multiplied 

4 by 

5 ‘‘(B) 100. 

6 ‘‘(5) ON-TRACK STUDENT.—The term ‘on-track 

7 student’ means a student who— 

8 ‘‘(A) has accumulated the number of cred9 its necessary to be promoted to the next grade, 

10 in accordance with State and local educational 

11 agency policies; 

12 ‘‘(B) has a 90 percent or higher school at13 tendance rate; 

14 ‘‘(C) has failed not more than 1 semester 

15 in English or language arts, mathematics, 

16 science, or social studies; and 

17 ‘‘(D) has failed not more than any 2 cred18 it-bearing courses. 

19 ‘‘(6) REGULAR SECONDARY SCHOOL DI20 PLOMA.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘regular sec22 ondary school diploma’ means the standard sec23 ondary school diploma awarded to the prepon24 derance of students in the State that is fully 

25 aligned with State standards, or a higher diVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:50 Apr 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S767.IS S767

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1 ploma. Such term shall not include GEDs, cer2 tificates of attendance, or any lesser diploma 

3 award. 

4 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—For a student who 

5 has a significant cognitive disability and is as6 sessed using an alternate assessment aligned to 

7 an alternate achievement standard, receipt of a 

8 regular secondary school diploma or a State-de9 fined alternate diploma aligned with completion 

10 of the student’s right to a free and appropriate 

11 public education under the Individuals with 

12 Disabilities Education Act shall be counted as 

13 graduating with a regular secondary school di14 ploma for the purposes of this section, except 

15 that not more than 1 percent of students served 

16 by the State or local educational agency, as ap17 propriate, shall be counted as graduates with a 

18 regular secondary school diploma under this 

19 subparagraph. 

20 ‘‘(7) UNDER-CREDITED STUDENT.—The term 

21 ‘under-credited student’ means a secondary school 

22 student who is a year or more behind in the ex23 pected accumulation of credits or courses toward an 

24 on-time graduation as determined by the relevant 

25 local educational agency’s and State educational 


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1 agency’s secondary school graduation requirements 

2 for an on-time graduation. 

3 ‘‘(b) CALCULATING AND REPORTING ACCURATE

4 GRADUATION RATES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) CALCULATING GRADUATION RATES.—Not 

6 later than school year 2011–2012, and every school 

7 year thereafter, each State educational agency and 

8 local educational agency that is assisted under this 

9 part shall calculate, using a statewide longitudinal 

10 data system with individual student identifiers for 

11 each school served by the State or local educational 

12 agency, as the case may be— 

13 ‘‘(A) the 4-year adjusted cohort graduation 

14 rate; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the cumulative graduation rate. 

16 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION AT SCHOOL, LEA, AND

17 STATE LEVELS; DISAGGREGATION AND CROSS TAB18 ULATION.—The 4-year adjusted cohort graduation 

19 rate and the cumulative graduation rate shall be cal20 culated at the school, local educational agency, and 

21 State levels in the aggregate and disaggregated and 

22 cross tabulated by race, ethnicity, gender, disability 

23 status, migrant status, English proficiency, and sta24 tus as economically disadvantaged, and made public, 

25 except that such disaggregation or cross tabulation 


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1 shall not be required in a case in which the number 

2 of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield sta3 tistically reliable information or the results would re4 veal personally identifiable information about an in5 dividual student. 

6 ‘‘(3) STATEWIDE EXIT CODES.—Not later than 

7 1 year after the enactment of the Every Student 

8 Counts Act, each State that receives funds under 

9 this subpart shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) design a statewide exit code system, 

11 in consultation with local educational agencies; 

12 ‘‘(B) require all local educational agencies 

13 to use the statewide exit code system; and 

14 ‘‘(C) provide technical assistance and sup15 port to local educational agencies to assist such 

16 agencies with the implementation of the state17 wide exit code system. 

18 ‘‘(4) REPORTING GRADUATION RATES.—Subject 

19 to paragraph (5), not later than school year 2011– 

20 2012, and every school year thereafter, each State 

21 that is assisted under this part shall ensure that the 

22 State, all local educational agencies in the State, and 

23 all secondary schools in the State report annually, as 

24 part of the State and local educational agency report 


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1 cards required under section 1111(h), each of the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(A) 4-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUA4 TION RATE.—The 4-year adjusted cohort grad5 uation rate, in the aggregate and disaggregated 

6 by each of the subgroups described in para7 graph (2). 

8 ‘‘(B) 4-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT SIZE AND

9 4-YEAR GRADUATES.—The final number of stu10 dents in the 4-year adjusted cohort and the 

11 total number of 4-year graduates in the aggre12 gate and disaggregated by each of the sub13 groups described in paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(C) CUMULATIVE GRADUATION RATE.— 

15 The cumulative graduation rate, in the aggre16 gate and disaggregated by each of the sub17 groups described in paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(D) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF STU19 DENTS GRADUATING IN MORE THAN 4 YEARS.— 

20 The number and percentage of secondary school 

21 students graduating in more than 4 years with 

22 a regular secondary school diploma as described 

23 in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i)(II), disaggregated by 

24 the number of years it took the students to 


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1 graduate and by each of the subgroups de2 scribed in paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(E) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF STU4 DENTS REMOVED FROM COHORT.—The number 

5 and percentage of secondary school students 

6 who have been removed from the 4-year ad7 justed cohort by exit code (as described in sub8 section (b)(3)), in the aggregate and 

9 disaggregated by each of the subgroups de10 scribed in paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(F) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF CON12 TINUING STUDENTS.—The number and percent13 age of students from each previous adjusted co14 hort that began 4 years or more earlier who 

15 have not graduated from and are still enrolled 

16 in secondary school. 

17 ‘‘(5) USE OF INTERIM GRADUATION RATE.—In 

18 the case of a State that does not have an individual 

19 student identifier longitudinal data system, with re20 spect to each graduation rate calculation or report21 ing requirement under this section, the State and 

22 local educational agencies and secondary schools in 

23 the State shall temporarily carry out this section by 

24 using an interim graduation rate calculation that 

25 meets the following conditions: 


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1 ‘‘(A) NUMBER OF GRADUATES COMPARED

2 TO NUMBER OF STUDENTS.—The calculation 

3 shall measure or estimate the number of sec4 ondary school graduates compared to the num5 ber of students in the secondary school’s enter6 ing grade. 

7 ‘‘(B) DROPOUT DATA.—The calculation 

8 shall not use dropout data. 

9 ‘‘(C) REGULAR SECONDARY SCHOOL DI10 PLOMA.—The calculation shall count as grad11 uates only those students who receive a regular 

12 secondary school diploma. 

13 ‘‘(D) DISAGGREGATION.—The calculation 

14 shall be disaggregated by each of the subgroups 

15 described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL BASIS AND RATE OF

17 GROWTH.—The calculation shall be used on an 

18 annual basis to determine a rate of growth, as 

19 described in subsection (c). 

20 ‘‘(F) TIMEFRAME LIMITATION.—The in21 terim graduation rate calculation may only be 

22 used through the end of school year 2012– 

23 2013. 

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1 ance under this part and does not have an indi2 vidual student identifier longitudinal data sys3 tem shall describe in the State’s plan submitted 

4 under section 1111 the interim graduation rate 

5 used in accordance with this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(6) REPORTING ON ALTERNATIVE SET7 TINGS.—Not later than school year 2011–2012, and 

8 every school year thereafter, each State educational 

9 agency and local educational agency that receives as10 sistance under this part and contains an alternative 

11 education setting that establishes an alternative 4- 

12 year completion requirement as described in sub13 section (c)(4)(C)(iii), shall report annually as part of 

14 the State and local educational agency report cards 

15 required under section 1111(h), the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) The name of each alternative edu17 cation setting that establishes an alternative 4- 

18 year completion requirement as described in 

19 subsection (c)(4)(C)(iii). 

20 ‘‘(B) A description of the program pro21 vided at each setting and the population served. 

22 ‘‘(C) The enrollment of such settings in 

23 the aggregate and disaggregated by each of the 

24 subgroups described in paragraph (2), including 

25 as a percent of overall enrollment. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Whether the setting is a new school 

2 or setting. 

3 ‘‘(E) The alternative 4-year completion re4 quirement as described in subsection 

5 (c)(4)(C)(iii). 

6 ‘‘(7) REPORTING PERCENT OF ON-TRACK STU7 DENTS.—Not later than school year 2011–2012, and 

8 every school year thereafter, each State educational 

9 agency, local educational agency, and school that re10 ceives assistance under this part shall report annu11 ally, as part of the State and local educational agen12 cy report cards required under section 1111(h), the 

13 percent of on-track students for each secondary 

14 school grade served by the State educational agency, 

15 local educational agency, and school, respectively, 

16 other than the graduating grade for the secondary 

17 school, in the aggregate and disaggregated by each 

18 of the subgroups described in paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(8) REPORTING ADDITIONAL INDICATORS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may report 

21 additional complementary indicators of sec22 ondary school completion, such as— 

23 ‘‘(i) a college-ready graduation rate; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a dropout rate; 

25 ‘‘(iii) in-grade retention rates; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) percentages of students receiving 

2 GEDs, certificates of completion, or alter3 natives to a diploma; 

4 ‘‘(v) average attendance rates in the 

5 aggregate and disaggregated by each of the 

6 subgroups described in paragraph (2); and 

7 ‘‘(vi) in the case of a State with exit 

8 examinations, students who have completed 

9 course requirements but failed a State ex10 amination required for secondary school 

11 graduation. 

12 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS FOR INDICATORS.—The 

13 Secretary shall promulgate and publish in the 

14 Federal Register regulations containing defini15 tions for the indicators described in clauses (i), 

16 (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) that are con17 sistent with the definitions used by the National 

18 Center for Educational Statistics, in order to 

19 ensure that the indicators are comparable 

20 across schools and school districts within a 

21 State. 

22 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION.—For purposes of re23 porting or accountability under this section, the 

24 additional indicators shall not replace the 4- 


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1 year adjusted cohort graduation rate or the cu2 mulative graduation rate. 

3 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

4 in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a 

5 State from reporting indicators of secondary 

6 school completion that are not described in sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(9) DATA ANOMALIES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—When an individual 

10 student record indicates a student was enrolled 

11 in more than 1 secondary school or a student 

12 record shows enrollment in a secondary school 

13 but no subsequent information, such student 

14 record shall be assigned to 1 adjusted cohort 

15 for the purposes of calculating and reporting 

16 school, local educational agency, and State 4- 

17 year adjusted cohort graduation rates and cu18 mulative graduation rates under this sub19 section. 

20 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—A student who re21 turns to secondary school after dropping out of 

22 secondary school, or receives a diploma from 

23 more than 1 school or educational program 

24 served by any 1 local educational agency, shall 

25 be counted— 


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1 ‘‘(i) only once for purposes of report2 ing and accountability under this section; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) as part of the student’s original 

5 adjusted cohort. 

6 ‘‘(10) MONITORING OF DATA COLLECTION.— 

7 Each State that receives assistance under this part 

8 shall conduct regular audits of the data collection, 

9 use of exit codes (as described in subsection (b)(3)), 

10 reporting, and calculations that are carried out by 

11 local educational agencies in the State. The Sec12 retary shall assist States in their efforts to develop 

13 and retain the capacity for collection, analysis, and 

14 public reporting of 4-year adjusted cohort gradua15 tion rate and cumulative graduation rate data. 

16 ‘‘(c) SCHOOL, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY, AND

17 STATE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) GRADUATION RATE GOAL.—Each State 

19 that receives assistance under this part shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) seek to have all students graduate 

21 from secondary school prepared for success in 

22 college and career; and 

23 ‘‘(B) meet the graduation rate goal as de24 scribed in this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRADUATION RATE CALCULATION.—Each 

2 State that receives assistance under this part shall 

3 use aggregate and disaggregated 4-year adjusted co4 hort graduation rates or cumulative graduation rates 

5 as the additional indicator described in section 

6 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) for the purposes of determining 

7 each secondary school’s and local educational agen8 cy’s adequate yearly progress. 

9 ‘‘(3) MEETING GRADUATION RATE GOAL.—In 

10 order to meet the graduation rate goal, a State, local 

11 educational agency, or school shall demonstrate that 

12 it has a 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate or a 

13 cumulative graduation rate above 90 percent in the 

14 aggregate and for all subgroups described in sub15 section (b)(2). 

16 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES.—The 

17 Secretary shall require a State, local educational 

18 agency, or school that receives assistance under this 

19 part and that has not met the graduation rate goal 

20 in the aggregate or for any subgroup described in 

21 subsection (b)(2) to increase the 4-year adjusted co22 hort graduation rate or the cumulative graduation 

23 rate, in the aggregate or for such subgroup, respec24 tively, in order to make adequate yearly progress 

25 under section 1111(b)(2), as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) BASELINE FOR 4-YEAR ADJUSTED CO2 HORT AND CUMULATIVE GRADUATION RATES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub4 paragraph (B), the 4-year adjusted cohort 

5 graduation rate calculated and reported in 

6 accordance with this section for the first 

7 school year that begins after the date of 

8 enactment of the Every Student Counts 

9 Act shall serve as the baseline 4-year ad10 justed cohort graduation rate and the cu11 mulative graduation rate calculated and re12 ported in accordance with this section for 

13 such first school year shall serve as the 

14 baseline cumulative graduation rate. 

15 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL GROWTH.—Each school 

16 year after the baseline year described in 

17 clause (i), 4-year adjusted cohort gradua18 tion rates and cumulative graduation rates 

19 calculated at the school, local educational 

20 agency, and State levels in the aggregate 

21 and disaggregated by each subgroup de22 scribed in subsection (b)(2) shall be evalu23 ated for annual growth in accordance with 

24 subparagraph (C). 


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1 ‘‘(B) BASELINE ADJUSTMENT.—In the 

2 case of a State that uses an interim graduation 

3 rate, after the State has implemented an indi4 vidual student identifier longitudinal data sys5 tem and can calculate the 4-year adjusted co6 hort graduation rate and the cumulative grad7 uation rate, but not later than the 2013–2014 

8 school year, the State shall use the cumulative 

9 graduation rate as the baseline graduation rate 

10 for reporting and accountability under this sec11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL GROWTH.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order for a 

14 State, local educational agency, or school 

15 to make adequate yearly progress under 

16 section 1111(b)(2), the State, local edu17 cational agency, or school, respectively, 

18 shall demonstrate increases in the 4-year 

19 adjusted cohort graduation rate from the 

20 baseline 4 year adjusted cohort graduation 

21 rate or increases in the cumulative gradua22 tion rate from the baseline cumulative 

23 graduation rate, in the aggregate and for 

24 each subgroup described in subsection 

25 (b)(2), by an average of 3 percentage 


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1 points per school year, until the 4-year ad2 justed cohort graduation rate or the cumu3 lative graduation rate, in the aggregate 

4 and for each such subgroup, equals or ex5 ceeds 90 percent. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AYP NOT MADE.—A secondary 

7 school shall not be considered to have 

8 made adequate yearly progress under sec9 tion 1111(b)(2) if— 

10 ‘‘(I) the school’s 4-year adjusted 

11 cohort graduation rate, in the aggre12 gate or for any subgroup described in 

13 subsection (b)(2), falls below the ini14 tial baseline 4-year adjusted cohort 

15 over a 4-year period; or 

16 ‘‘(II) fewer than 90 percent of 

17 the students included in the cumu18 lative graduation rate, in the aggre19 gate or for any subgroup described in 

20 subsection (b)(2), are students who 

21 graduate from secondary school in 4 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE 4-YEAR COMPLE24 TION REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding 

25 clause (ii), a secondary school or secondary 


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1 school educational program that is an al2 ternative education setting may apply to 

3 the State for a waiver of the requirement 

4 in clause (ii) that at least 90 percent of the 

5 students included in the cumulative grad6 uation rate, in the aggregate or for any 

7 subgroup described in subsection (b)(2), 

8 are students who graduate from secondary 

9 school in 4 years if— 

10 ‘‘(I) the secondary school or edu11 cational program submits to the 

12 State— 

13 ‘‘(aa) a description of the 

14 secondary school or educational 

15 program; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) an alternative 4-year 

17 completion requirement; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the State approves the use 

19 of the alternative 4-year completion 

20 requirement for such purposes. 

21 ‘‘(5) DELAYED APPLICABILITY TO SCHOOLS.— 

22 Paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)(C) shall not apply to 

23 a secondary school until the beginning of school year 

24 2012–2013 or, in the case of a State using an in25 terim rate, shall not apply to a secondary school 


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1 until the first school year after such State adjusts 

2 its baseline graduation rate as described in para3 graph (4)(B). 

4 ‘‘(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the date of enactment of the Every Student 

6 Counts Act, and annually thereafter, each State edu7 cational agency that receives assistance under this part 

8 shall submit to the Secretary, and make publicly available, 

9 a report on the implementation of this section. Such report 

10 shall include— 

11 ‘‘(1) a description of each category, code, exit 

12 code, and the corresponding definition that the State 

13 has authorized for identifying, tracking, calculating, 

14 and publicly reporting student status; 

15 ‘‘(2) if using an interim graduation rate pursu16 ant to subsection (b)(5), a description of the efforts 

17 of the State to implement the 4-year adjusted cohort 

18 graduation rate and the cumulative graduation rate 

19 and the expected date of implementation, which date 

20 shall be not later than the school year 2013–2014; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(3) a description of waivers granted in the 

23 State under subsection (c)(4)(C)(iii), which shall in24 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the total number of waivers granted 

2 in the State under subsection (c)(4)(C)(iii); 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of each waiver granted; 

4 ‘‘(C) the number of students who are en5 rolled in secondary schools or secondary school 

6 education programs receiving such waivers; and 

7 ‘‘(D) the cumulative graduation rates of 

8 the secondary schools or secondary school edu9 cation programs receiving such waivers.’’ 

10 SEC. 5. AYP CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 Section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec12 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

15 semicolon; 

16 (2) in clause (vii), by striking the period and in17 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(viii) complies with the requirements 

20 of section 1111A.’’. 

Æ 


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