Marcineal, assistant superintendent for strategy, planning and learning, told the board on Dec. 2 that Goal 5 reporting will focus on graduation success and related measures, and that the full report is posted on BoardDocs. “Graduation success is an important area for our continued focus,” Marcineal said, explaining the division reports both an on‑time graduation rate (which can include approved extensions through age 22) and a federal four‑year graduation indicator (FGI) that excludes applied‑studies diplomas and extended‑time graduates.

The presentation traced longitudinal trends and noted a post‑pandemic decline in some measures after state testing flexibilities ended. Marcineal said the class of 2019 posted a 91% on‑time graduation rate and an 86% four‑year FGI; pandemic‑era flexibility raised some recent cohort rates, and the class of 2025 shows a modest decline as those flexibilities no longer apply. The division emphasized that multilingual learners and Hispanic students show lower on‑time rates than the division average, and that students with disabilities have shifted increasingly from applied‑studies toward standard diplomas in recent years.

Board members focused on causes and solutions. Mister Moon asked whether the division conducts follow‑up interviews when students leave; staff said counselors and on‑time‑graduation coordinators trigger outreach as soon as a student reaches a 15‑day absence threshold and that credit deficiency and family work obligations are common drivers. Giovanni Ponce, chief of schools, said many students who drop out are ELP level 1 and “more than 75 percent of the students who drop … are level 1 and they are overage.”

Doctor Anderson pressed staff to include demographic and grade‑level breakdowns in board materials so the board can target interventions; staff said that analysis exists and has been provided under separate cover and that ABLE work (an analytics and advising initiative) is being used to identify course‑taking patterns and barriers. Marcineal told the board that ABLE will help show which course choices and advising practices lead to advanced‑studies outcomes and that staff can provide additional, school‑level analysis.

Staff outlined three strategy areas to improve graduation success: (1) expand credit‑earning opportunities and strengthen tracking (including a new graduation‑status view in ParentVUE/StudentVUE), (2) increase student engagement and work‑based learning supports including summer career‑center specialists and CTE options, and (3) expand standard course offerings and supports for multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Board members asked for clearer targets on measures such as the advanced‑studies diploma and for ABLE findings to be incorporated into the Goal 5 reporting.

The board asked staff to provide missing details and additional disaggregations — including regional, school‑level and program‑level data, and a clearer view of the postsecondary intention‑to‑enrollment gap reported through the Clearinghouse — to inform policy, budget and advocacy work. Staff committed to follow‑up analysis and to returning ABLE insights in forthcoming reports.

Next steps: staff will share the ABLE‑informed analyses and additional disaggregated data with the board, and the division will continue outreach strategies and targeted programs to address the subgroup gaps identified in the presentation.