Q: Why is there so much difference between the school systemís graduation rate and dropout rate? Are they calculated differently?
A: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction measures students[0x1d][0x1d] who graduate from high school in two different ways ó dropout rate and cohort graduation rate. Cohort graduation rate and dropout rate are two very different numbers and are calculated very differently.
To calculate the dropouts, a student must be enrolled at least some time in the year prior to the report, not be enrolled on Day 20 of the year that is being reported and have not graduated from high school or completed a state or district approved educational program. Students would not have been transferred to another public school district, private school, home school or state/district-approved educational program or temporarily absent due to suspension or school-approved illness, or death.
If students desire to complete their education at the community college and receive a GED, they are still counted as dropouts from the school system. Students who drop out between grades 7 and 12 multiple times are counted as dropouts every time they come back to school, enroll and dropout again, so some students are counted as dropouts multiple times.
The cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of first-time ninth graders who graduate four years later. In other words, it is calculated by taking the number of 12th graders in a given year and compares the number to their 9th grade year. The number of students who transferred into the school in the grade appropriate to this group is added in. Students who transferred out of the schools or are deceased are subtracted from the total.
Students who transferred to another system and we did not receive a request for their records, as well as any dropouts, are counted as non-graduates.
Students who may need extra time to graduate and finish in four and a half or five years are counted as not graduating on this report, as are summer school students who receive a N.C. diploma after June 30, since they did not graduate with their class. To be counted, students must complete their high school career in four years.
Students indicate that the following are the main reasons that they drop out of school:
A lack of connection to the school environment.
Personal reasons such as the need to get a job or take care of family members or becoming a parent.
Significant academic challenges such as failing courses and not being prepared by their earlier schooling.
Attendance problems.
Low parental support.
Studies show that students who drop out of school are more likely to be unemployed, living in poverty, in prison, or single parents with children who drop out themselves.
It does not matter whether we use the dropout rate or the graduation rate; too many students are leaving our schools without a diploma.
As a system, we continue to improve our means of keeping students in school and on track to graduate. We constantly examine the curriculum and course offerings to make sure that we are offering courses and classroom strategies that are more relevant and engaging with better connections to the world outside of school. We continue to increase the support needed for students who are struggling, in addition to more alternatives for students who do not succeed in the typical high school setting.
An entire pyramid of interventions is needed to keep students from falling through the cracks.
The school system continues to focus on literacy in the elementary grades with a goal of having all students reading on grade level by the end of third grade.
Students begin ědropping outî before they enter high schools. Parents need to make sure their children are at school every day, ready to learn, communicate constantly with their childrenís teachers and emphasize the importance of a high school diploma.
The dropout/graduation dilemma is not an easy one to solve but one that is imperative to address for the future success of our students.

Dr. Judy Grissom is superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury School System.