The Alliance for Excellent Education was joined by the National PTA, the Public Education Network, the United Way of America, and twenty other education, civil rights, and advocacy organizations in submitting comments to the U.S. Department of Education in response to the regulations on graduation rate reporting and accountability that U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings proposed on April 22.
“[Our] comments represent consensus that has emerged on how to calculate and report graduation rates, and how to hold schools and districts accountable for graduating all students,” the letter reads. “While we believe this effort would be better served through a No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) reauthorization, we agree that measurement of graduation rates is critical in determining a high school’s success and an equally critical step in ensuring all students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college and the workplace.”
The letter then goes on to outline suggestions on how to define graduation rates, the department’s use of the averaged freshman graduation rate as an interim measure, graduation rate goals and growth targets, and other related issues.
The letter, as well as the complete list of organizations that signed on, is available here