Finding Text
Finding 2023-008: Annual Report Card, High School Graduation Rate (50000)
Program Identification:
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass‐through Entity: California Department of Education Program Names: Title I, Part A Grants:
Title I, Part A, Basic Grants Local-Income and Neglected (AL No. 84.010) ESEA, School Improvement
Grant Funding for LEAs (AL No. 84.010)
Criteria: ESEA sections 1111(h)(1)(C)(iii)(II) and 8101(23), (25) (20 USC 6311(h)(1)(C)(iii)(II)
and 7801(23),
(25))) require a local educational agency to have official written documentation that a student
enrolled in another school or in an educational program that culminates in the award of a regular
high school diploma in order to remove a student from the graduation cohort. A student who is
retained in grade, enrolled in a GED program, or leaves school for any other reason may not be
counted has having transferred out for the purpose of calculating graduation rate and must remain
in the adjusted cohort.
Condition: During our testing of compliance and controls over the graduation cohort, we identified
five instances in which the District was unable to provide supporting documentation to demonstrate
that the students enrolled in another school or in a educational program that culminates in the
award of a regular high school diploma.
Context: Exceptions were identified in five of the seven students sampled.
Questioned Costs: None.
Cause: Lack of review process to ensure that when a student is removed from the
graduation cohort proper documentation is obtained and maintained to support the student’s
removal from the graduation cohort.
Effect: School site’s graduation rate will be overstated on the school site’s annual report card.
Recommendation: We recommend the District train school site staff on allowable documentation to
remove students from a graduation cohort as well as other cohort codes. Subsequently the
District should assist school sites in developing the record retention process to ensure
documentation is available upon request.
Views of Responsible Officials: Office Managers and Data Clerks need comprehensive
training sessions on the importance of the removal of students from a graduation cohort
as a federal requirement. These sessions will specifically focus on imparting knowledge
about acceptable documentation for the removal of students from a graduation cohort.
Staff members will receive guidance on the proper documentation required for various cohort
codes, aiming to enhance accuracy in cohort reporting.
Secondly, the district will actively support school sites in establishing a record
retention process. This involves ensuring that when a student is removed from the
graduation cohort, there is consistent and substantiated documentation in place in a
centralized drive that can be accessed by all stakeholders. The emphasis lies on
maintaining accurate and accessible records to support cohort reporting.