9GR Coding
Erskinecharters
Introduction:
A student’s accountability cohort plays a key role in several elements of the state and federal report card. The United States Department of Education (USED) issued guidance on the maintenance of the four-year graduation cohort in January 2017: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/essagradrateguidance.pdf. The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) uses that guidance as the foundation for maintaining cohorts related to Graduation Rate, College and Career Readiness, On-track to Graduation, and Five-year Student Success metrics.
SCDE Memo from July 25, 2023
SCDE Cohort Maintenance Page:
US Department of Education Guidance on Cohort Maintenance:
9GR Definition
The students who form a grade 9 cohort are first-time students in grade 9 enrolled in the high school no later than the date by which student membership data is collected annually by the SEA for submission to the Department’s NCES (i.e., on or about October 1). (ESEA section 8101(25)(A)(i); 34 C.F.R. § 200.34(a)(2)).
Coding the 9GR
In South Carolina public schools, all students, including multilingual learners and immigrants, are initially placed with peers of the same age regardless of grade level. At high school, efforts are made to integrate students with age-appropriate peers in activities like homeroom and electives, guided by their transcripts where available. Coursework is determined based on student transcripts to meet graduation requirements and ensure opportunities for peer interaction and advancement. Schools must proactively plan for specific grade-level activities and communicate decisions in the preferred language of students and families.
Under South Carolina law, students aged 3-21 must be accommodated at all grade levels. A school's graduation rate may be impacted if students do not graduate within their designated cohort or age out of school, emphasizing the importance of equitable enrollment and compliance with federal laws. Corrections to ninth-grade cohort codes can only be made for errors and must be addressed promptly after enrollment.
9GR CodingFor Multi-Lingual Students
New students enrolling in a U.S. high school are added to a four-year graduation cohort, separate from their age-appropriate placement. The ninth-grade cohort (9GR) is assigned based on enrollment timing: before or after the 45th day of the school year, adjusting for the spring semester year. Students, including international transfers, are classified according to their credit status upon enrollment, allowing them to accumulate credits towards graduation until they age out.
Schools have discretion in accepting international transcripts and awarding credits, guided by local policies and SCDE recommendations. Transfer students with prior End-of-Course subject credits are exempt from retaking corresponding exams for federal reporting, with guidelines in place for documenting such exemptions.
Cohort Calculations
For purposes of tracking students’ graduation cohort status, schools are required to populate the Denominator field on the Cohort Maintenance page in PowerSchool. This field is labeled “We suggest this student should be in this school's DENOMINATOR” on the PowerSchool page and the database field is “s_sc_stu_grad_wrksheet_x.denominator”. This field must be populated for all students with a ninth grade code. Students who remain in the cohort should have “Y – Yes” displayed for the field (stored value is Y), and those students with reason to be removed from the cohort should have “N – No” displayed for the field (stored value is N).
Refer to this doc for additional information: https://ed.sc.gov/data/information-systems/power-school/sis-documents/cohort-maintenance-worksheet/