Targets: Increasing High School Graduation

Target-setting is an important step in achieving positive outcomes for children, youth, families and the community.  In order to achieve better results, leaders can commit to setting a measurable target and a timeframe for its accomplishment.

Questions to Consider. 

• Based on trend and projection data what is an achievable target?   

• How will the target be used?
  • As an inspiration for mobilizing public will and action?
  • As a benchmark for measuring performance and accountability?

• Can targets be set for specific groups or regions within the state?
  • How will local targets be incorporated, if at all, into the state target? What support can the state give to local entities to set and achieve targets?
  • How will racial disparities, geographic differences and other variations be considered? 

• What will ensure targets are appropriately set and used over time?

• How can you prevent targets from being misused for punitive purposes or from leading to unintended consequences and poor practices? 

Federal regulations require each state to set goals and targets for high school graduation beginning in 2009-2010. For the purposes of reporting Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act, the goals and targets must be included in AYP calculations. States must begin reporting graduation rates using a new measure , the four-year cohort graduation rate, beginning in 2010-2011 and must use this rate formula for AYP calculations by 2011-2012. The U.S. Department of Education’s non-regulatory guidance clarifies that u ntil that time, states may set goals using a transitional graduation rate if they do not yet have the capacity to use the cohort graduation rate.

States can set aggressive goals with incremental targets to drive and sustain progress over time. North Carolina passed legislation directing the State Board of Education to develop a growth model establishing annual goals for continuous and substantial improvement in the four-year cohort graduation rate by local school districts. The legislation specifies long-term minimum goals of 74 percent by 2014; 80 percent by 2016 and 90 percent by 2018. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick set a target of at least 90 percent of students graduating from high school prepared for postsecondary education by 2020.  To achieve this, the statewide Graduation and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Commission committed an immediate 5-year target to cut the dropout rate in half (from 3.4 percent to 1.7 percent) by 2014.