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Source: Vermont Department of Education
2) Total School Enrollment: The total number of students enrolled in the school on October 1 of a given year.
Source: Vermont Department of Education Annual Fall Data Collection
Considerations: This data includes Early Essential Education,
Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten students (half and full day) where
applicable as well as all graded and ungraded students. It does not reflect
whether students were in attendance or absent on that day. Enrollment is
only a "snapshot" of the population at a given point in time. There are
other measures of student population that are used in different calculations.
3) Attendance Rate (%): The average percentage of days that students attended school.
Source: School Register.
4) Retention Rate (%): The proportion of students across grades that were retained.
Source: School Register.
Considerations: These data should be viewed with caution since
retaining students is addressed in different ways from school to school.
Some schools do not retain any students as a matter of policy, others retain
students based on social concerns or academic readiness. To understand
these data you would need to know the local policy regarding retention.
5) Estimated HS Cohort Graduation Rate:
The longitudinal completion rate is calculated by dividing the total number of graduates in a particular class and dividing it by the cumulative number of dropouts over the four-year period when the specified class would have attended high school. This rate attempts to estimate the graduation rate for a single class of students when actual cohort data are unavailable.
It is important to note that the longitudinal completion rate has limitations. It cannot account for students who may drop out and re-enroll the same school or another the following year. The rate includes both graduates and dropouts who may not have been part of the original cohort that started in the school in the ninth grade. However, until a statewide student tracking system is in place, the longitudinal completion rate provides the best information available on high school completion.
Because of the high stakes of graduation rate under the No Child Left Behind Act and because of the inaccuracies inherent in estimating cohort graduation rates, some high schools submitted graduation and dropout data tracking individual students from ninth through twelfth grades. This provides those schools with a more accurate cohort graduation rate and is the data reported here. For the class of 2004, schools that submitted this information are: Rochester Elem/High School and Concord Schools.
Source: Dept of Education Finance.
6) Student/Teacher Ratio: Total enrollment divided by the total number of teacher Full Time Equivalents (FTE). (For definition of FTE, see Indicator 14)
Source: Department of Education Annual Fall Data Collection
Considerations: This ratio does not represent a class size. All
teachers including "Itinerant" and "Ungraded" are used in the calculation.
(See Indicator 7 for further explanation) It does not include librarian/media
specialists and guidance counselors.
7) Special Education (%): The proportion of all enrolled students who were identified as eligible and served in special education. The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of students eligible for special education by the school enrollment in that same year.
Source: December Child Count.
Considerations: Students reflected in this percentage are identified
based on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This number
does not consider all the children that receive extra help as the result
of Act 230, Section 504 and Title 1.
8) 11-12 Technical Education Rate: The proportion of 11th and 12th students who completed technical education programs through a regional technical center in the last year. The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of 11th and 12th grade students who completed technical education programs by the 11th and 12th grade school enrollment.
Source: Annual Technical Center data collection.
Considerations: Students reflected in this percentage are identified based on the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This number does not consider all the children that receive
extra help as the result of Act 230, Section 504 and Title 1.
9) 9-12 Dropout Rate (%): The percentage of the total high school population (grades 9-12) who withdrew from school during the previous summer and during the school year. This rate is known as the "event rate" and represents the percentage of students who drop out during a single year.
Source: Vermont Department of Education Annual Dropout Report
Considerations: The Department of Education calculates dropout
rates according to a formula provided by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES). When comparing Vermont dropout rates to those of other
states, it is important to be sure that the rates were calculated in the
same way. In addition, to "event rates", NCES also reports "status" and
"cohort" dropout rates. Status rates reflect the percentage of the population
within a particular age range (frequently 18-25) who have not completed
high school, while cohort rates represent the percentage of a single group
of students of the same age or grade level who dropout over an extended
period of time. Because "event rates" represent only those students who
dropped out during a particular year, they are often lower than "status
rates" or "cohort rates". Studies of "cohort" dropout rates in Vermont
are approximately 17% (Meyers, 1996). Check with your local school to see
if they calculate "status" or "cohort" dropout rates.
10) Home Study (Number): The number of students who are provided home study instead of attending the public school. Home study student counts are reported by the public school they would have attended had they not been enrolled in home study.
Source: Vermont Department of Education Home Study and Independent Schools Workgroup.
Considerations: Parents of home study students must notify the
state of their intention to home school, provide a curriculum for review
and submit annual evaluation information. A number of home study students
do utilize some public school services such as libraries, physical education,
field trips, etc.
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Please send questions or comments on the School Report to the Department of Education, or feel free to call 802.828.3148. |