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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
FCPS Reports On-Time Graduation Rate of 90.4 Percent
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) reports an on-time graduation rate of 90.4 percent for members of the class of 2009—which includes students who entered ninth grade for the first time during the 2005-06 school year—as part of the Virginia Department of Education’s on-time graduation rate report. The graduation rate is based on individual student data, tracked over time, that completely account for student mobility and retention patterns. This is the second year the graduation rate is being reported this way in Virginia; school divisions track students from year to year and across campuses and divisions.
The statistics—which include disaggregated data for male and female students, seven ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students identified as disadvantaged, limited English proficient (LEP) students, and homeless students—track the type of diploma earned as well as the number of students still working toward a diploma, how many students graduated, and how many students dropped out of school.
“The numbers show that while our graduation rate is essentially the same as last year, we graduated approximately 700 more students in 2009 and awarded approximately 350 additional advanced studies diplomas,” says FCPS Superintendent Jack D. Dale. “Compiling statistics like these makes it possible for us to track our students and ensure they stay on course to graduate.”
According to the Virginia Department of Education, a Virginia on-time graduate is a student who graduates from high school in four years or less and earns one of five types of diploma: standard, advanced studies (including International Baccalaureate), modified standard, general achievement, or special. Special education students and LEP students who have education plans in place that allow them more time to graduate will be counted as graduates or nongraduates when they earn a diploma or exit high school. Students who earn a General Educational Development (GED®) diploma or certificate of completion are not counted as dropouts but are not counted as graduates when counting the Virginia on-time graduation rate.
The Virginia on-time graduation rate is modeled on a formula endorsed by the National Governors Association and was mandated by Virginia House Bill 19, approved by the 2006 Virginia General Assembly. Public release of the graduation rate includes division- and school-level spreadsheets posted on the Virginia School Report Card section of the Virginia Department of Education web site.
To view FCPS data or data on specific schools, visit http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/src/ontime_grad_rate.shtml .
### Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach at 571-423-1200.
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