Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/227385
Sarasota News Leader December 13, 2013 Page 85 SARASOTA DROPOUT RATE IMPROVES; GRADUATION RATE DECREASES The Sarasota County School District dropout rate for 2012-13 improved compared to the previous year, but the graduation rate has decreased slightly, according to data released Dec. 11 by the Florida Department of Education, the Sarasota County School District has announced. Using the Federal Uniform Rate, which provides a consistent method for comparing graduation rates among all states and school districts, the 2012-13 graduation rate for Sarasota County public high schools is 76.2 percent, a news release says. "The percentage is higher than the state graduation rate of 75.6 percent and slightly lower than the 2011-12 Sarasota County graduation rate of 78 percent," the release adds. New federal regulations require each state to calculate a graduation rate that includes standard diplomas but excludes General Equivalency Diplomas (GEDs) — both regular and adult — and special diplomas awarded to some students with disabilities who do not meet the requirements for standard diplomas, the release points out. "The U.S. Department of Education adopted the method of calculating the Federal Uniform Rate to facilitate comparisons of graduation rates across the nation," the release explains. "It replaces the National Governors Association rate used in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the Florida Graduation Rate used prior to 2010. The Federal Uniform Rate also will be used in Florida's school accountability system to calculate school grades for high schools." A graph compares state and county graduation rates. Image courtesy Sarasota County