The Graduation Rate and Dropout Initiative (GRAD)

Projects: Toward Clear Definitions and Consistent Data | Setting a Graduation Goal | Beat the Odds ...Why Some Schools with Latino Children Beat the Odds and Others Don't | Applying Business Methods to Education | Everybody’s Problem: A Closer Look at Arizona’s High School Graduation Rate | Bridging the Grad Gap: Measuring the Economic Benefits of Educational Attainment in Arizona

High school graduation is a minimum requirement for meaningful entry into the workforce and a basic requisite for further education and training. Yet Arizona is frequently cited as having one of the highest high school dropout rates in the nation. Despite questions about the reliability of comparative data surrounding high school dropout rates among the 50 states, we know that we are leaving a substantial portion of our workforce behind and hurting our economic vitality at a time when we can least afford it. The impact is seen in added costs to government, healthcare systems and social disruption.

Arizona’s graduation rates lag the nation across all ethnic groups, including Whites, with ethnic minorities graduating at a lower rate than the Arizona average. Our state would benefit greatly by increasing graduation rates for all our student populations if we are to avoid the negative social and economic effects of low levels of student success.

What has kept Arizona’s high school dropout rates unacceptably high? How can we increase our graduation rates? How do we compare nationally? These questions are being addressed by the CFA’s Graduation Rate and Dropout Initiative (GRAD) in the following manner:

the establishment of clear definitions and reliable data;
the establishment of ambitious and achievable graduation goals;
improvement of our understanding of success and failure;
promotion of steps to improve success across all ethnic groups; and
analyses of major systems-level questions in the hope of identifying leverage points in the educational system.

Consistent with CFA’s practice, the GRAD Initiative seeks to achieve better outcomes for Arizona by bringing business, education, non-profit and government leaders together to forge consensus on changes that must take place to improve dropout and graduation rates, and to develop a coordinated plan to build on best practices and achieve measurable results. Some of the specific ongoing projects within the GRAD Initiative are:

Center analyses submitted to the governor’s P-20 Council show that states that require students to attend school until they reach age 18 enjoy higher high school graduation rates than other states, including Arizona, that require students to stay in school only until age 16. Dr. Sybil Francis chairs the P-20 Council’s Data, Assessment and Graduation Committee. View the center’s presentation to the P-20 Council below.
VIEW PRESENTATION