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High School Completion
The goal of state and community leaders is for every Florida student to first, complete high school and, second, obtain a diploma. In reality, some obtain GED or other certificates, while the rest are awarded diplomas. Some drop out of high school or move to another school. As Florida's education system continues to improve, the graduation rate will continue to rise.
Why Is This Important?
The four-year graduation rate has traditionally been viewed as an important indicator of educational effectiveness and school performance. However, for many public education systems nationwide, problems in accounting for student mobility between schools and districts have limited the accuracy of published graduation rates. Fortunately, the Florida Department of Education's integrated information database accommodates the tracking of students by individual student identification numbers. Such tracking increases the accuracy of Florida's published four-year graduation rates for schools and school districts.
Florida high schools strive to ensure that students graduate and are prepared to enter the workforce and postsecondary institutions. Using this more precise calculation allows us to better determine how well our education reforms are working. Tracking of the individual student ensures that all students are accounted for, which is a critical indicator in the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
In Florida, a dropout is defined as a student who withdraws from school before graduation and does not enroll in another school or institution. The dropout rate is an important indicator of school performance. Florida's published dropout rate is a single-year indicator. The dropout rate determines the percent of students across grade levels 9-12 who dropped out during a single year. The Florida Department of Education's integrated information database system allows for the tracking of individual students by individual student identification numbers. As with the graduation rate, this tracking increases the accuracy of Florida's published dropout rates for schools and school districts.
How Is Florida Doing?
Significant gains have been made in the graduation rate over the past decade.
Florida's graduation rate increased from 72.4 percent in 2006/2007 to 75.4 percent in 2007-2008. Since 1998-1999, the rate has increased from 60.2 percent to 75.4 percent, an increase of 15.2 percent, even with the implementation of higher graduation standards during this period.
Notable gains have also been made in reducing the rate of dropouts in Florida. The state’s dropout rate decreased from 5.4 percent in 1998-99 to 3.3 percent in 2006-07. From 2006-2007 to 2007-2008, the rate decreased even further to 2.6 percent.
Scorecard
What Influences High School Completion?
It is vitally important to identify those students in need of assistance at a young age instead of when they are older. Addressing shortcomings at a younger age allows for corrective action before the opportunity to obtain fundamental knowledge is lost. This fundamental knowledge is critical to success in high school. Exposure to illegal drugs or alcohol abuse can lead young people away from a desire to finish school.
What Is the State's Role?
The state's role in facilitating higher graduation rates is primarily in the area of assuring that Florida's educational system has adequate state resources and infrastructure and that student performance is measured to ensure they are performing at their grade level.
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