The Illinois State Board of Education says it will soon have more accurate figures for the state’s high school graduation rate. That’s after a study released this week showed some discrepancies in the numbers.
The study by Education Week had different numbers from many states around the country. That’s because there is no standard for calculating graduation rates. Some say that has created an accountibility issue. Connie Wise helps crunch numbers for the Illinois Board of Education. She says the state just recently began tracking individual students. Wise says that could result in more accurate graduation numbers.
WISE: I think that they will certainly make them more valid and reliable because we’ll be able to track those students from school district to school district. We’ll be able to see if they’re either transferring in or dropping out.
Wise says the first new figures will begin coming out in three years. The U.S. Education Secretary is working to standardize how states calculate graduation rates by the fall.