Making Every Diploma Count:
Using Extended-Year Graduation Rates to Measure Student Success
The American Youth Policy Forum, Gateway to College National Network, and the National
Youth Employment Coalition with support from numerous national youth-serving organizations
(complete list below) have produced an issue brief to encourage states’ use of extended-year
graduation rates in adequate yearly progress calculations and incorporation of these rates into
their state accountability frameworks/systems. This brief, Making Every Diploma Count: Using
Extended-Year Graduation Rates to Measure Student Success, aims to educate and inform states
of the flexibilities that currently exist to use extended-year graduation rates as a policy
mechanism to encourage schools and districts to continue to work with overage, under-credit
students.
These rates provide for the inclusion of over-age, under-credit students who take longer than the
traditional four years to earn a high school diploma, but who successfully earn their credential in
five or six years. Extended-year graduation rates allow states to document increases in
graduation rates compared to the traditional four-year measure and highlight the successful work
of schools and districts to get struggling and out-of-school students back on-track to
graduation. The brief encourages states to calculate five- and six-year high school graduation
rates to ensure that schools’ and districts’ efforts to serve struggling and off-track students are
recognized and not discouraged.
Making Every Diploma Count: Using Extended-Year Graduation Rates to Measure Student
Success, link to resource page and brief: http://www.aypf.org/projects/extendedgradrates.htm
Additional organizations supporting this effort include:
American Association of School Administrators
Association for Career and Technical Education
Big Picture Learning
Campaign for Youth
Center for Law and Social Policy
CEOs for Cities
Diploma Plus
FHI 360
Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, National League of Cities
Jobs for the Future
Latin American Youth Center
League of United Latin American Citizens
Middle College Consortium at LaGuardia Community College
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium
National School Boards Association
Our Piece of the Pie
Philadelphia Youth Network
See Forever Foundation
Schools for the Future
Street Schools Network
The Corps Network
The Forum for Youth Investment
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
YouthBuild USA
Youth Transition Funders Group
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American Youth Policy Forum
202-775-9731 202-775-9733 (fax)
www.aypf.org