Class of 2003 Graduation Data

The Class of 2003 had a graduation rate of 83.6 percent. This is a 1.8 percentage point increase from the Class of 2002 rate of 81.8 percent and a 3.1 percentage point increase over the Class of 2001 rate of 80.5 percent.

Questions and Answers about Colorado Graduation and Completer Rates

Who Is a Graduate? There is no statewide definition. In Colorado, local school boards are responsible for establishing the requirements for high school graduation. A graduate is a student who has met the requirements for the locally defined high school diploma.

Do All Colorado School Districts Have the Same Requirements For Graduation? No. Each local school board defines graduation requirements for its district. These vary from district to district. The state considers a graduate to be any student who has met the graduation requirements of his or her local school district.

Are There Students Who Complete 12 Years of School and Do Not Graduate? Yes. Some districts award certificates or other designations of high school completion or attendance to students who do not complete the standard high school graduation requirements. Also, some students who do not complete the traditional high school graduation requirements do successfully achieve a general equivalency certificate (GED).

Who Will Be Included in the Calculation of Graduation Rate? Two types of rates are calculated by the department for school districts and for the state: Graduation Rates and Completer Rates.

Graduation Rates. Graduation rates are calculated based on high school graduates only. If a student is not considered a graduate by the local board of education, then he/she is not included in the graduation rate calculation.

Completer Rates. Completer rates are calculated based on all students who are graduates, plus those who are not considered graduates but receive another certificate or designation of high school completion.

What Happens to Students Who Graduate in the Summer? Summer graduates are included in the graduation rate calculation of the current graduating class.

What Happens if a Student Was Reported as a Dropout at Some Point During His or Her High School Years and the School Subsequently Receives Information that the Student Transferred into Another Educational Program? Does That Student Affect the Graduation Rate For the Class of Which He/She Was Originally a Member? No. If the high school has documentation of the student's transfer into another educational program or completion of an educational program, then an adjustment may be made to the membership base used to calculate the graduation rate. These students are not reported as completers from the district, they are taken out of the membership base of the school and treated as if they transferred from the school. However, the dropout rate for the year in which they were reported as a dropout remains unchanged.

What Is the Graduation Rate? The graduation rate is a cumulative or longitudinal rate which calculates the number of students who actually graduate as a percent of those who were in membership and could have graduated over a four-year period (i.e., from Grades 9-12).

A graduation rate will be reported for each graduating class (i.e., the Class of 1999). The rate is calculated by dividing the number of graduates by the membership base. The membership base is derived from end-of-year count of eighth graders four years earlier (i.e., in the spring of 1995), and adjusted for the number of students who have transferred into or out of the district during the years covering grades 9 through 12.

What Is the Completer Rate? The Completer Rate is also a cumulative or longitudinal rate which calculates the number of students who graduate, receive certificates or other designations of high school completion. It is also calculated as a percent of those who were in membership and could have graduated or completed over a four-year period (i.e., from Grades 9-12).

Information needed to calculate graduation and completer rates is available from the dropout data collection system initiated in the 1987-88 school year.

What Is Meant By the "Class of 2003"? Graduation rates and completer rates will be reported for a particular class. The Class of 2003 includes students who graduated in the spring and summer of 2003. It may include students who completed high school in three years, four years or longer.

District Level Statistics

4-Year Trends

School Level Statistics

Graduation Rates by School