By KPR
Frankfort, KY – A new method of calculating graduation rates at Kentucky public high school's is providing the first detailed look at differences between males, females, and ethnic groups. In a report released yesterday, the state education department implemented a formula called Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate. Department spokeswoman Lisa Gross says the formula is a transition to a more detailed reporting system that will be in place in 2013.
"This Average Freshman Graduation Rate that we're using this year and for the next three years allows us to sort of ease in to that cohort formula. And it is an approved rate that the U.S. Department of Education says is okay for us to use until we get to that final cohort rate."
Based on the new calculations, 76.68 percent of Kentucky students who entered high school in 2006 ended up graduating on time in 2010. African American students had a graduation rate of just 70 percent, compared to 78 percent among white students. And nearly 81 percent of all female students earned their diploma in four years, compared to 73 percent of male students.