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Pennsylvania
Statistics on children, youth and families in Pennsylvania from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
5-Year Cohort Graduation Rate - Students who graduate from high school four years after their ninth-grade year in Pennsylvania
5-Year Cohort Graduation Rate - Students who graduate from high school four years after their ninth-grade year
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Why This Indicator Matters
Analyzing data related to high school students who graduate within 5 years provides a broader perspective on graduation rates than the 4-year estimate, reflecting the school system’s ability to support students who need more time to graduate. Similar to Pennsylvania trends related to the 4-year cohort, the graduation rate for 5-year cohort students has also been steadily increasing over time. Monitoring this data is essential for understanding long-term trends in educational outcomes, identifying areas where support is needed, and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and programs aimed at improving graduation rates. Despite graduation rate trends generally being positive, research suggests key differences in graduation rates by race/ethnicity, disability status, English learner status, and economically disadvantages status. [1] Continuous efforts are necessary to ensure that all student subgroups have equitable opportunities to succeed and to address any underlying factors that may prevent some students from graduating on time.[2]
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[1] National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). On-Time Graduation. Equity in Education Dashboard. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/equity/indicator_c6.asp#citation
[2] Rumberger, R.W. & Plasman, J.S. (2018). Developing Equity Indicators for On-Time Graduation. The Committee on Developing Indicators of Educational Equity, National Research Council. https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/webpage/dbasse_193232.pdf
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The cohort graduation rates are a calculation of the percentage of students who have graduated with a regular high school diploma within a designated number of years since the student first entered high school. The rate is determined for a cohort of students who have all entered high school for the first time during the same school year.
Effective with the 2009-10 school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) began implementation of this new methodology to calculate the graduation rate for all public high schools, comprehensive Career and Technical Centers (CTCs) and charter schools that graduate students from 12th grade. The transition to the new method of calculating the graduation rate is required by the U.S. Department of Education, and is a more precise way to measure the true graduation rate.
Effective with the 2009-10 school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) began implementation of this new methodology to calculate the graduation rate for all public high schools, comprehensive Career and Technical Centers (CTCs) and charter schools that graduate students from 12th grade. The transition to the new method of calculating the graduation rate is required by the U.S. Department of Education, and is a more precise way to measure the true graduation rate.
Notes
The 5-year cohort graduation rate for school year 11-12 is based on a starting cohort year of 2007-08 (ninth grade) and includes all 10-11 graduates as well as those students who needed an extra year to graduate in 11-12.
The 2012-13 5-year cohort graduation rate is calculated utilizing the final 2011-12 4-year cohort graduation rate as the basis.
ND = No Data Available. In cases of "LNE" (low number event) the cohort size is less than 10 and therefore not publicly reported.
The year listed is the second half of the school year; for example, 2012 refers to the 2011-2012 school year.
The 2012-13 5-year cohort graduation rate is calculated utilizing the final 2011-12 4-year cohort graduation rate as the basis.
ND = No Data Available. In cases of "LNE" (low number event) the cohort size is less than 10 and therefore not publicly reported.
The year listed is the second half of the school year; for example, 2012 refers to the 2011-2012 school year.
Last Updated
January 2024