_Appendix I - NCES Dropout Definition_ |
In 2003, the Texas Legislature amended the Texas Education Code (TEC) to define dropouts for state accountability according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition. Specifically, statute now states that the Academic Excellence Indicators (TEC §39.051) include:
(b)(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics of the United States Department of Education;
Students who dropped out during the 2005-06 school year were the first to be reported according to the new definition. This appendix describes the changes that apply to state accountability.
Leaver. A leaver may be any one of the following: a student who graduates, receives a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, continues high school outside the Texas public school system, or begins college, is expelled, dies, or drops out.
Movers. A mover is a student who moves from one public school district to another, within Texas. A leaver record is not required for a mover.
Dropout. A dropout is a student who was enrolled in 2005-06 in a Texas public school in grades 7 – 12, but did not return to a Texas public school the following fall within the school-start window, was not expelled, did not graduate, receive a GED, continue high school outside the Texas public school system, or begin college, or die.
School-Start Window. The school-start window is between the first day of school and the last Friday in September.
Leaver Reason Codes. These codes were modified in the 2006-07 Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data Standards to be in compliance with the NCES definition. Some codes were deleted, some were consolidated, and some were changed from “non-dropout” to dropout reason codes.
The following table provides an overview of the 2005-06 leaver codes compared to the codes available in 2006-07. Codes that are the same in both years are shown in bold. In the Dropout? column, each leaver code is noted as Yes or No.
Please note that this table is not a substitute for the detailed information and instructions available in the PEIMS Data Standards. PEIMS managers should consult the data standards for precise information on coding leavers.
| 2005-06 Data Standards | 2006-07 Data Standards |
||||
Code |
Description |
Dropout? |
Code |
Description |
Dropout? |
01 |
Graduated |
No |
01 |
Graduated |
No |
02 |
Pursue Job/Job Training |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
03 |
Died |
No |
03 |
Died |
No |
04 |
Join the Military |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
08 |
Pregnancy |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
09 |
Marriage |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
10 |
Alcohol/Other drug abuse problem |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
14 |
Age |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
15 |
Homeless or non-permanent resident |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
16 |
Return to home country |
No |
16 |
Return to home country |
No |
19 |
Failed exit TAAS/TAKS, met grad. req. |
No |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
21 |
Official transfer to other Texas district |
No |
-- |
No code if found to be “mover” |
No |
22 |
Alternative program, working toward diploma or certificate |
No |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
24 |
College, pursue degree |
No |
24 |
College, pursue degree |
No |
30 |
Enter health-care facility |
No |
* |
Deleted, see footnote* |
* |
31 |
Completed GED |
No |
** |
Deleted; see footnote** |
** |
60 |
Home schooling |
No |
60 |
Home schooling |
No |
61 |
Incarcerated outside district |
No |
* |
Deleted, see footnote* |
* |
63 |
Graduated, returned, left again |
No |
-- |
No code if found to be graduate |
No |
64 |
GED, returned, left again |
No |
** |
Deleted; see footnote** |
** |
66 |
Removed by Child Protect. Srv. |
No |
66 |
Removed by Child Protect. Srv. |
No |
72 |
Court-ordered alternative program |
No |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
78 |
Expelled, cannot return |
No |
78 |
Expelled, cannot return |
No |
79 |
Expelled, can return, has not |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
80 |
Enrolled in another Texas public school |
No |
-- |
No code if found to be “mover” |
No |
81 |
Enrolled in Texas private school |
No |
81 |
Enroll in Texas private school |
No |
82 |
Enrolled in school outside Texas |
No |
82 |
Enroll in school outside Texas |
No |
83 |
Administrative withdrawal |
No |
83 |
Administrative withdrawal |
No |
84 |
Academic performance |
Yes |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
n/a |
not available in 2005-06 |
n/a |
85 |
Graduated outside Texas, returned, left again |
No |
n/a |
not available in 2005-06 |
n/a |
86 |
GED Outside Texas |
No |
n/a |
not available in 2005-06 |
n/a |
98 |
Other |
Yes |
99 |
Other (unknown or not listed) |
Yes |
n/a |
Deleted |
n/a |
* If the student moves to a facility served by a Texas public school district, no code is necessary. For other situations, see the PEIMS Data Standards.
** If a GED was earned prior to September 1, 2006, student is not a dropout and no code is necessary. For other situations, see the PEIMS Data Standards.
GED. Under the NCES definition, students who leave school district to attend GED programs are counted as dropouts unless they receive their GED certificates by August 31st. That is, students who left during the 2005-06 school year but earned their GEDs by August 31, 2006 were not counted as dropouts.
Movers. Students who move from one Texas public school district to another are no longer reported using leaver reason codes. School districts may confirm that students have moved to other Texas public school districts by searching the PID Enrollment Tracking (PET) application; nevertheless, the final determination of whether students have moved will be made by TEA.
Dropouts No Longer Removed. In order to be in compliance with the NCES definition, three categories of dropouts that were removed from the state accountability dropout count in the past are no longer removed:
- Previous Dropouts. Students who dropped out, then returned and dropped out again are counted as dropouts in each year they drop out.
- Duplicate Records. If more than one district reports a student as a dropout, and the last district of attendance cannot be determined, the student will be counted as a dropout for both districts.
- ADA Ineligible Students. All students are now included in the dropout calculation, regardless of their Average Daily Attendance (ADA) eligibility code. They count in both the numerator and denominator. That is, students who are served but are not in the district’s or campus’s membership are no longer excluded from the methodology.
School-Start Window. Students must return during the period of time between the first day of school and the last Friday in September (September 29, 2006) to be counted as having returned to school and not be counted as leavers from the prior year.
PEIMS Reporting. Student enrollment status is now reported for three dates during the school year: the school-start window, the fall “as of” (October snapshot) date, and the final day of school. Enrollment status previously collected only in PEIMS submission 1, is now collected in both PEIMS submissions 1 and 3.
Cumulative Enrollment. The state dropout rate calculation will continue to use cumulative enrollment for the school year in the denominator. Cumulative enrollment is a count of all students for whom attendance or enrollment is reported during the school year.
Summer Dropouts. For state accountability purposes, summer dropouts are attributed to the school year just completed, based on the campus of enrollment on the final day of the previous school year.
Migrant Students. Migrant students who return after the school-start window are still not counted as dropouts.
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