By Jennifer Kopsch
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — The Michigan Department of Education has adopted a new method of calculating high school graduation rates, which some educators believe could alter some districts’ Adequate Yearly Progress status under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

On Aug. 21, school officials from throughout Oakland County gathered in Farmington Hills to discuss the new method, which was applied for the first time with the Class of 2007. In the past, the state of Michigan used an average retention rate, and districts were allowed to count every student who received a diploma, no matter how many years it took them to complete high school. The new method tracks individual students, beginning in ninth-grade, and only counts them if they graduate within four years. The new formula was adopted to adhere to NCLB reporting requirements, but could make some districts fall below the 80 percent graduation rate that NCLB requires for achieving AYP status.

According to Carolyn Claerhout from the Oakland Schools Pupil Accounting Department, one of the biggest changes is that the new method includes special education and alternative education students who may have trouble graduating in four years. Districts with alternative high schools, which usually include students from several surrounding districts, may see the most noticeable drops in their graduation rates.

In Ferndale Public Schools, for example, about half of the student population is in an alternative program. However, Ferndale Superintendent Gary Meier noted that he’s not discouraged by the new counting method.

“The mission of our school district is to serve students who are at risk as well as the K-12 population,” he said.

Meier added that there seems to be an inconsistency between the process of meeting NCLB requirements and truly leaving no child behind. Student achievement, he said, goes beyond charts and numbers.

“There’s a different story behind every school in Oakland County,” he said.

The Royal Oak school district also has a significant number of alternative students who are enrolled at its Churchill Community High School. Royal Oak Superintendent Tom Moline echoed Meier’s sentiments, and explained that the district would do its best to deal with the new count method.

“We are not going to abandon our alternative education programs,” he said.

Another concern among local educators is that the new method requires districts to track students much more diligently. For instance, if a student is counted in ninth-grade and then leaves the district without notification, the original district could end up having to count them as a non-graduate four years later — unless that district can track down and verify the student’s enrollment in another district. Stephanie Hall, who does pupil accounting for Ferndale Public Schools, explained that student records need to be cleaner and more accurate than ever. 

“We all are becoming detectives,” said Hall. “If a student leaves, they need to be verified somewhere else.”

Oakland Schools consultant Ernie Bauer analyzed preliminary data from all 41 high schools in Oakland County, and calculated graduation rates using both the old and new count method. Although a few schools had fluctuations in their numbers, Bauer said the two methods were surprisingly consistent.

“I think the message here is that schools have been doing a pretty good job reporting under the old method as well as the new one,” he said.

Bauer also noted that, within the next few years, the new formula would likely be changed to give districts the chance to track five-year and six-year graduation rates.

“This is the beginning of the story, it’s not the end of the story,” he said.

The Michigan Department of Education was scheduled to release statewide high school graduation rates on Aug. 25, after press time.

For more information, visit www.michigan.org/mde.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Kopsch at jkopsch@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1052.