Appendix B—Methodology

The source of the data for this report is the 2006–07 Common Core of Data (CCD). There are three nonfiscal CCD surveys that collect basic descriptive data on public education in the nation: the school survey (Public School Universe Survey), local education agency survey (Local Education Agency Universe Survey), and state survey (State Nonfiscal Survey). Fiscal CCD data are gathered at the state level by NCES in the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) and at the local level in the Annual Survey of Local Government Finances (F-33 series of the Census of Local Governments) conducted by the Governments Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. The most recent fiscal year for which data are available is 2006. Puerto Rico fiscal data were taken from the fiscal year 2006 NPEFS.

CCD data are provided by state education agencies (SEAs) from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic), and four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Data for all of these states and jurisdictions are included in this report. If a data item is marked “data not available,” it indicates the state or jurisdiction did not report the data item in its CCD submission.

Districts represented in this report have various sizes and geographic locations. The District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico are each administered as one school district. Some districts comprise a substantial portion of a state’s total student membership, while others make up only a small fraction of membership.

Data Quality

CCD data are reported by SEAs for individual schools and districts within the state, as well as for the state as a whole. Staff at NCES and the U.S. Census Bureau work with the SEAs to clean and edit the data. State coordinators correct or confirm any numbers that are challenged in the NCES edits. NCES accepts the states’ responses to these edit questions; however, in a limited number of situations, if the SEA does not provide NCES with the explanation or new data for an item, NCES will suppress or edit the data.

NCES challenges SEA data under several circumstances. Some examples of edits include numbers appearing out of range when compared to national averages, the previous year’s data, or internal state reports. If a response is logically impossible, NCES will consult with the state and replace the response with a logically acceptable alternative. For example, in the 2006–07 CCD, one of the 100 largest districts was reported as having none of its schools Title I eligible. This number appeared implausible when the percent of Title I eligible schools for each of the 100 largest districts was compared to 2005–06 reports, and therefore the value was changed to “not available.” Similarly, one of the 100 largest districts reported having zero local education agency administrative staff in 2006–07, and this number appeared implausible when compared to the reported value from 2005–06. This number was also set to “not available” for this report. As another example of an edit, if a reported total is less than the sum of the detail comprising that total, the total will be changed to the sum of the detail. Data may also be adjusted for confidentiality.

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Item Nonresponse

Some items were not available for some school districts. The following items describe nonresponse in the CCD school and agency universe surveys that affected the information presented in this report:

• no staff counts for the District of Columbia;
• no data on guidance counselors for two of the 100 largest school districts;
• no data for local education agency (LEA) administrators for one of the 100 largest school districts;
• no pupil/teacher ratio data for other instructional levels for four of the 100 largest school districts;
• no Title I data for three of the 100 largest school districts;
• no data for magnet schools for nine of the 100 largest school districts;
• no data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility for all districts in Nevada;
• no data on students with IEPs for all Colorado districts and for the San Francisco Unified, California district;
• no diploma recipient or other high school completer data for Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, no diploma recipient data for the District of Columbia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah; and
• no dropout data for South Carolina.

High School Completers, Grades 9–12 Dropout Rate, and Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate

This report presents counts of high school completers, the grade 9–12 dropout rate, and an averaged freshman graduation rate. The term “high school completer” includes both diploma recipients and other high school completers, but not high school equivalency recipients. The averaged freshman graduation rate only includes diploma recipients; it does not include other high school completers or those receiving a GED-based equivalency credential.

Diploma Recipients. These are individuals who are awarded, in a given year, a high school diploma or a diploma that recognizes some equivalent level of academic achievement. They can be thought of as students who meet or exceed the coursework and performance standards for high school completion established by the state or other relevant authorities.

Other High School Completers. These individuals receive a certificate of attendance or some other credential in lieu of a diploma. Students awarded this credential typically meet requirements that differ from those for a high school diploma. Some states do not issue an “other high school completion” type of certificate, but award all students who complete school a diploma regardless of what academic requirements the students have met. In order to make data as comparable as possible across states, this report includes both regular and other diploma recipients in its total number of high school completers. High school equivalency recipients are not included.

Exclusion of High School Equivalency Recipients. High school equivalency recipients are awarded a credential certifying that they have met state or district requirements for high school completion by passing an examination or completing some other performance requirement. High school equivalency diplomas are considered valid completion credentials, but high school equivalency recipients are not included in the total number of completers. To ensure data comparability, the CCD publishes state-level data provided by the GED Testing Service.

Grades 9–12 dropout rate. The grades 9–12 dropout rate estimates the percentage of public high school students who left high school between the beginning of one school year and the beginning of the next without earning a high school diploma or its equivalent (e.g., a GED) and do not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions: transfer to another public school district, private school, or state- or district-approved education program; temporary absence due to suspension or school-approved illness; or death. It is calculated by the following method:

Rg = Dg/Eg

where Rg = the grades 9–12 dropout rate (rounded to a single decimal place), Dg = the number of grades 9–12 dropouts, and Eg = the grades 9–12 enrollment. Ungraded enrollment within each agency is redistributed across other grades in proportion to the graded enrollment.

Averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR). The averaged freshman graduation rate provides an estimate of the percentage of high school students who graduate on time (i.e., within 4 years of entering 9^th grade for the first time). The rate uses aggregate student enrollment data (to estimate the size of an incoming freshman class) and aggregate counts of the number of diplomas awarded 4 years later. The incoming freshman class size is estimated by summing the enrollment in 8^th grade in one year, 9^th grade for the next year, and 10^th grade for the year after and then dividing by three. The averaging is intended to account for higher grade retentions in the 9^th grade compared to 8^th and 10^th grades. Ungraded students reported to the CCD were prorated into the individual grade enrollment counts. Thus

More Information on CCD Methodology

New York City Public Schools, New York. New York did not report the New York City Public Schools as a single district in 2006–07. The state reported a total of 34 geographic districts comprising what had been the New York City Public Schools in previous years. For this report, data for the 34 geographic districts were aggregated to provide data for the New York City Public Schools, New York district.

For more information on CCD universe surveys and response rates, see Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006–07 (Hoffman 2009), Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006–07 (Sable and Noel 2008), and Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005–06 (Stillwell and Hoffman 2008). These reports discuss missing data and data quality and present state totals for CCD data items from the school, agency, and state surveys. They include state-idiosyncratic treatment of charter and magnet schools as well as schools and districts with no student membership.

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