Between 1990 and 2012, high school graduation rates among young people ages 25 to 29 increased from '86 at 90%; this overall national increase is reflected in each of the ethnicities, White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian/Pacific Islander (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013a). Prior to 2012, there were no nationally standardized objective measures to measure four-year high school graduation rates; Tracking of educational progress varied from state to state. Therefore, state education data collected from 1990 to 2012 are not as accurate as effective comparison groups unless knowledge of prior state-specific methodologies is used (U.S. Department of Education, 2012a). Since 2012, NCES, an entity within the Department of Education, has used a national four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) standard. The ACGR excludes previously included students who earn a high school diploma through the General Education Development (GED) test, an alternative diploma, or a certificate of attendance from the graduation pool (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). By minimizing state-to-state variability, these more stringent measures clearly describe the status of our youth and better allocate resources. The U.S. Department of Education (2012a) defines ACGR as “the number of students who graduate within four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the correct cohort for the graduating class . Each cohort is composed of students entering the classroom for the first time in a particular school year (SY); this may be the student's ninth grade or first year of high school, and is adjusted for those who move in/out, emigrate to another country, or die during the... half of the work... , C. ( 2012). The shock of 9th grade and the school dropout crisis. Social science research. 41(3), pp. 709-730. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.11.014. United States Department of Education (2012a). Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for Four Years in the 2010-11 School Year [Provisional Version: Data Notes]. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/adjusted-cohort-graduation-rate.docU.S. Department of Education (2012b). Cohort graduation rates governed by the SY2010-11 four-year regulation [Provisional data file PDF]. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/state-2010-11-graduation-rate-data.pdfU.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2008).Non-normative guidelines on the high school graduation rate. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/hsgrguidance.pdf
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