ASD Dropout Rate Lowest Since 1998-99

Fewer than four percent (3.93 percent) of ASD students were considered dropouts during the 2007-08 school year. That’s the lowest dropout rate for ASD since 1998-99, when summer leavers were not included in the calculation of the dropout rate. The dropout rate for Alaska during the same time period was 5.3 percent. Dropout rates for the five urban school districts in Alaska range from 3.9 percent in Anchorage to 5.1 percent in Juneau. (see graphic - Dropout Rates – Big 5 Urban Districts).

Calculating the Dropout Rate
In Alaska, dropout rates are single-year calculations based on dividing the number of students who are

currently enrolled in grades 7-12 on October 1, by the number of students whose enrollment ended sometime during that school year. A student who leaves the district to be home-schooled in a program that is not sponsored by a public school district would have to be counted as a dropout under state rules, as would students who stop attending school to get their GED. Students also are counted as dropouts if they move without leaving their contact information, and the district cannot verify that they are attending a state-approved school. Students who do not pass the High School Graduation Qualifying Exit Exam (HSGQE) and receive a Certificate of Achievement also count as dropouts under the state’s formula. Students can be recounted as dropouts if they return to school and drop out again.

More Students Receiving Diplomas
The number of ASD students staying in school and obtaining their high school diploma continues to increase. In 2005, a total of 2,584 students were graduated from the district. That figure increased to 2,807 students in 2006, 2,831 in 2007, and 2,965 in 2008.

Calculating the Graduation Rate
Understanding graduation and dropout rates is not as simple as it might first appear. While the dropout rate is a fairly straightforward one-year calculation, the graduation rate is based on a complex four-year calculation, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. However, not all students graduate in the traditional, four-year manner. Adding to the confusion, there are a number of ways governments and school districts calculate graduation rates in cities across the U.S.

In Alaska, the graduation rate calculation is the number of current-year graduates, including the previous year’s summer graduates, divided by that number plus the number of unduplicated dropouts over the four-year cohort period and the number of seniors who are continuing on into the next year in order to earn their diplomas (see graphic - Graduation Rate Calculation).

For the 2007-08 school year, ASD had the second-highest graduation rate in Alaska, just slightly behind the Kenai district, in a comparison of the five big urban districts in Alaska (see graphic - Graduation Rates – Big 5 Urban Districts). Approximately 65 percent (64.96 percent) of ASD students graduated in 2008. While some of the remaining 35 percent are dropouts according to the state’s definition above (which means they may have received a GED or be homeschooling), many are students who, for a variety of circumstances, are taking longer than four years to graduate. The latest comparable graduation data from a 2008 study shows ASD ranked slightly ahead of similarly sized districts in Seattle and Portland, and slightly behind Boston for the 2004-05 school year (see graphic - Graduation Rates - Urban Comparison).

This district is proud of the work its staff and students have done but knows there are improvements to be made. The district is constantly reviewing and changing the way it educates students in the 21st century to keep them excited about education. ASD will continue to educate all students for success in life because the district believes, together with the help of parents and families, more students will leave high school with a diploma.

Next month in ASD Connect: What the district is doing, plus a look at this year's preliminary results.