Last updated on December 11, 2013 at 11:24 EST  NCLB: Dreaming
the Impossible  October 10, 2008  To the average person on the
street, “graduation rate” means the number of high school
seniors who actually receive their diplomas; e.g., 200 seniors,
200 diplomas, equals 100 percent; or 200 seniors, 150 diplomas,
equals 75 percent.  However, to the bean counters under No Child
Left Behind, calculating the graduation rate is not that simple.
They use a formula based on the number of graduates with a
regular diploma, the number of “dropouts,” the number of
graduates with a special- education diploma, and the number of
graduates with a certificate of attendance; e.g., 2008
graduates, 2005 9th grade dropouts, 2006 10th grade dropouts,
2007 11th grade dropouts, 2008 12th grade dropouts, 2008 special
education diplomas, and 2008 certificates of attendance.  The
definition of “dropout” is a student who starts but does not
complete the school year. Common sense says there is no high
school that will not have any student