Reporting High-School Graduation and Other High School Completer Statistics: Recommendations Developed by the Education Data Improvement Project Task Force on High School Completion Rates

One of the most frequently used indicators of the success of American schools is the graduation rate. There is a need, however, to track categories of school completers other than traditional diploma recipients; school reforms and stricter graduation requirements may influence how people attain a secondary education. This report contains recommendations for improving the quality of data on school completion. These recommendations result from the work of the Task Force on High School Completion Rates (TFHSCR), and they take into account problems associated with current data collection and reporting procedures. Recommendations to enable a more accurate indication of what happens to a ninth-grade cohort 4 years later include the following: (1) reporting four categories of annual completion rates: traditional and non-traditional diploma recipients, other certificate/credential recipients, and those who pass the Tests of General Educational Development; (2) selection of various grade levels to determine the most appropriate cohort; (3) collection of data on non-traditional high school programs; and (4) collection of long-term completion rates through age 24 years. Appendices list member agencies and personnel of the TFHSCR, definitions of Common Core of Data completer categories, and graduate and completer data in the Common Core of Data in 1988-89 in table form. (SLD)