RIDE Information Services
 
 
  Go Back General Instructions (last updated on 2/13/2008)
   
 

Important: Please read the entire set of instructions before you start.

Scope of Work

Reporting graduation rates by cohort is required by the federal NCLB act and by NGA compact that Rhode Island has signed. NCLB requires that the graduation rate used for AYP/Accountability give credit for four-year (or less) graduates only.

For the graduating class of 2007, RIDE has already published the graduation rate based on the "leaver-rate" formula, and this rate has been used to determine AYP status for 2006-07. In the spring (of 2008), RIDE will publish a four-year graduation rate for the class of 2007 based on the new cohort formula. This rate will be published for information purposes only. (Note: RIDE has not yet decided how to determine the graduation-indicator AYP status for 2007-08.)

For the graduating class of 2008 and for all future classes, RIDE will use the cohort formula to determined the four-year graduation rate, which will be used to determine AYP status for 2008-09 and beyond. RIDE will use the cohort formula to publish 5-year and 6-year graduation rates for information purposes only.

Cohort graduation rate is derived by dividing the total # of students in cohort who graduated in 4 years or less by the total # of students enrolled in 9th grade for the first time 4 years ago plus the transfer-ins minus the transfer-outs and deaths. Cohort dropout rate is derived by dividing the total # of students in cohort who dropped out and whose exit status was invalid or unknown by the same denominator.

In 4 years or less, students in the cohort are expected to exit the public schools in one of the following categories (and exit class codes if you downloaded the entire cohort listing):

  • graduated in 4 years or less (exit class code=1)
  • dropped out (exit class code=2)
  • completed GED (exit class code=3)
  • retained/still in school (exit class code=4)
  • reached maximum age for services (exit class code=5)
  • different cohort (exit class code=7, see key concept below)
  • transferred out of public schools, out of State, died (exit class code=8)

Students transferred out of public schools, out of State, died will be taken out of the cohort for final calculations. Students whose exit status unknown or with an invalid code (exit class code=9) will be counted as dropouts if not verified and corrected.

With this application, we ask the districts to review all of the students in the cohort, particularly the students who exited with reasons other than the 5 identified above, and make the necessary updates and corrections.

Basic Instructions

  1. Open Internet Explorer (version 6.0 or later), login to eRIDE portal (http://www.eride.ri.gov/); contact your local data manager if you need a secure eRIDE account.
  2. Also contact your local data manager If you do not see this application in your portal (Update Student Exits).  Make sure you have the right access level to this application: read-only and full access.
  3. Click on a school or district to view the current counts of students by their final exit status and by key demographic and program statuses.
  4. Click on the total count on the main page to view and edit individual students' exit status.
  5. Click on 'Download File to Excel' to download the entire set to your desktop if wished.
  6. Click on 'Update Student Counts' to recalculate the summary reports when needed.
  7. Only district authorized personnel are allowed to update records on eRIDE; deletion and batch upload are not allowed.
  8. On the student listing page, click on various Exit classes on top to view/update listing by a specific exit class.
  9. Click on Update to edit the last enroll/exit date and status for a student.
  10. Students' demographics and program statuses are not for edits.  Students' program statuses are determined by program services students were eligible (e.g., lunch) and/or received (e.g., iep, lep) in the last 4 years; students' demographic characteristics are determined at the time of exit.
  11. Click on the field names to customize the sort.
  12. Click on a student SASID number to view the student's enrollment history in the last 4 years.
  13. To sign off, on the main page, click on the school/district code or the school/district name, print a hardcopy of the summary signoff form/report, sign and fax a copy to RIDE;
  14. To electronically signoff and lock the data, click on 'signoff' next to the school/district.  Once the the student information is electronically signed off, you will not be able to edit the records.  To unlock a school, contact RIDE 222-8967 or 222-8957. 

Critical Timelines:

Please complete the updates and sign off the data no later than February 15th. Upon completion of this process, RIDE will recalculate, publish and release the rates to the public in late February.

In anticipation of this review period, please determine a process for you, your data manager, and district and school administrators to review the data for accuracy. Please keep in mind that the files should reflect all your enrollment and dropout data submissions from 2003-04 to-date.

This timeline will not be extended. This is an important opportunity for you to ensure that your schools’ data are accurate for accountability purposes. Please make every effort to clean your data  in the allotted time.

Key Concepts

  • cohort - a group of students enrolled in 9th grade for the first time in the same year;
  • transferred-ins - are those transferred infrom non-public schools and from out-of-State who are in the same grade cohort;
  • transferred-outs - are those transferred out of the State's public schools to private and out-of-State; deaths and illness are treated the same as transfer-outs;
  • retained/still in school - are those who did not graduate and who were still in school in the 4th year;
  • completed GED - are those who completed the GED program in the 4 years based on the State's GED database;
  • reached maximum age for services - are those who left school because they have reached the maximum age to receive instructional services allowed by federal, state, or local laws. 
  • exited - unknown - are those who exited the State's public schools with codes other than 'graduated', 'dropped out', 'completed GED' and 'transferred out'.
  • different cohort - students included in this cohort data set based on the State's records but local records showed they belonged to a different cohort.

Computing the Cohort Rates

Here is how to turn the numbers in your sign-off Summary Reports into cohort rates:

  1. Add the number of graduates, dropouts, completed GEDs, those reached maxiumum age, retained and those in the unknown category - this will be your common denominator; notice the transfer-outs and students in the different cohort are excluded here;
  2. Divide the number of graduates by the common denominator from above, this will be your final cohort graduation rate;
  3. Add the number of dropouts and the unknowns, divide the total by the common denominator, this will be your final cohort dropout rate; notice the 'unknowns' are included for dropout rate calculations;
  4. You may derive the % retained, completed GEDs, and reached maximum age by applying the same procedure; rates for various subgroups can be calculated likewise;
  5. Please understand the rates can be very dramatic for small groups, exercise caution when using the data.

Support Contacts

For general support for user accounts and application related questions, and questions related to enrollment history of any students, contact your local data managers in each district. For questions related to how the State calculates the graduation and dropout rates, contact Dr. Kenneth Gu, kenneth.gu@ride.ri.gov, 222-8957.