I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2955 
To improve calculation, reporting, and accountability for graduation rates. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2007 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 
THOMPSON
of Mississippi, Ms. CORRINE
BROWN
of Florida, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LINDA T. 
SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. LEE, Ms. CARSON, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, 
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. 
HARE, and Ms. KILPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To improve calculation, reporting, and accountability for 
graduation rates. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Every Student Counts 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:19 Jul 13, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.IH
H2955
ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(1) to require consistent calculations of gradua-
tion rates across schools, districts, and States; 
(2) to leverage accurate reporting of graduation 
rates; 
(3) to provide educators with critical informa-
tion about students’ progress toward graduation; 
and 
(4) to ensure meaningful accountability for the 
improvement of graduation rates for all students, 
particularly those of poor and minority students. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) To retain its competitive edge in the world 
economy, it is essential that America’s youth be pre-
pared for the jobs of today and for the jobs of the 
future. Such jobs increasingly require a postsec-
ondary education—an estimated 85 percent of cur-
rent jobs and almost 90 percent of the fastest grow-
ing and best paying jobs require some postsecondary 
education. 
(2) Individuals without a high school diploma 
experience higher rates of unemployment, incarcer-
ation, living in poverty, and receiving public assist-
ance than individuals with at least a high school di-
ploma. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:19 Jul 13, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.IH
H2955
ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(3) Approximately one-third of all high school 
students in the United States fail to graduate with 
their peers—about 1,230,000 every year. 
(4) The graduation rates for historically dis-
advantaged minority groups are far lower than that 
of their white peers; little more than half of all Afri-
can-American and Hispanic students will finish high 
school on time with a regular high school diploma 
compared to over three-quarters of white students. 
(5) About 2,000 of the more than 20,000 high 
schools in the United States produce nearly half of 
the Nation’s dropouts. In these schools, the number 
of seniors is routinely 60 percent or less than the 
number of freshmen 4 years earlier. While almost 
half of the Nation’s African-American students and 
nearly 40 percent of Latino students attend these 
‘‘dropout factories,’’ only 11 percent of white stu-
dents do. 
(6) The graduation rate calculations currently 
used by most States for both reporting and account-
ability are inconsistent and misleading. Not only 
does this obscure the graduation rate crisis, particu-
larly for poor and minority students, but it also 
makes it impossible to compare graduation rates 
across schools, districts, and States. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:19 Jul 13, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.IH
H2955
ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(7) The average gap between State-reported 
and independently reported graduation rates is ap-
proximately 11 percent, and in some States that dif-
ference rises to over 25 percent. 
(8) In 2005, all 50 of the Nation’s Governors 
signed the National Governors Association’s Gradua-
tion Rate Compact, pledging to use a common, accu-
rate graduation rate. However, since only a few 
States currently use the Compact rate for account-
ability purposes and some States have backed off 
this goal, it is necessary to operationalize common 
calculations and accountability for graduation rates. 
(9) The most accurate graduation rate calcula-
tions are reliant on high-quality longitudinal data 
systems that track individual student data from the 
time a student enters the educational system until 
he or she leaves it. Currently only 16 States have 
the 4 elements of a statewide longitudinal data sys-
tem that are necessary to calculate the National 
Governors Association Compact rate at the school 
level. 
(10) An accountability system with meaningful 
graduation rate goals holds schools, districts, and 
States responsible for both student achievement and 
outcomes and ensures that low-performing students 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:19 Jul 13, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2955.IH
H2955
ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS