A. For purposes of establishing a uniform and accurate definition of high school graduation rate for school districts and secondary schools in the state, the State Board of Education shall adopt and implement a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and an extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. The Board shall utilize and report the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate at the secondary school site, the school district and the state level, and the graduation rates shall be reported in the aggregate as well as disaggregated by subgroups as required in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (ESEA), P.L. No. 107-110, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

B. The Board shall use the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for purposes of determining the high school graduation rate indicator for the academic performance data calculation beginning with state and district report cards providing results of assessments administered in the 2011-2012 school year. The Board shall use the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for establishing the high school graduation rate for measuring alternate year percentage growth targets as set forth in Section 3-151.2 of this title beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

C. The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate shall be defined as the number of students who graduate in four (4) years with a standard high school diploma divided by the number of students who entered high school four (4) years earlier, adjusted for transfers in and out of the school, émigrés and deceased students. Students who graduate in four (4) years shall include students who earn a standard high school diploma at the end of their fourth year, before the end of their fourth year, and during a summer session immediately following their fourth year. To remove a student from a cohort, a school district shall confirm in writing or by electronic means that a student has transferred out of the school site or school district, has emigrated to another country or is deceased. For a student who transfers out of a school site or school district, the written or electronic confirmation shall be official and document that the student has enrolled in another school site or school district or in an educational program that culminates in a high school diploma recognized by a state or private higher educational institution accredited or recognized by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for purposes of admission to the institution. Students not enrolled in a program which culminates in the award of a credential recognized by a state or private higher educational institution for purposes of admissions shall not be included in the graduation rate calculation as set forth in this subsection as a student who graduated in four (4) years with a standard high school diploma but shall be included in the number of students who entered high school four (4) years earlier.

D. The extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate shall be defined as the number of students who graduate in four (4) years or five (5) years with a high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the four-year graduation rate as calculated as provided for in subsection C of this section, provided that the adjustments add to the cohort all students who transfer into the cohort by the end of the year of graduation being considered and subtract students who transfer out, emigrate to another country or are deceased by the end of that year. The extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate shall be reported separately from the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 245, § 1. Amended by Laws 2013, c. 83, § 5, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 311, § 2, eff. July 1, 2014.