Setting a Cohort

Department of Accountability & Other Support Services

Graduation - Setting a Cohort

Last Revision Date: November 12, 2019

When students in Ohio enter high school, ODE establishes the students’ cohort in order to be able to calculate 4-year and 5-year (in some cases 6-, 7- and 8- year) graduation rates for schools and for districts.

ODE typically uses the grade level of the student to calculate the cohort, but sometimes they determine the cohort based on the Fiscal Year Began 9^th Grade.

How do I know if a student has a set cohort?

Check the transcript
Check ODDEX

Reviewing current year incoming high school students and making necessary corrections before July 10, can make the most impact on setting the correct cohort. It will be too late for any changes if we wait to review these students when they are about to graduate.

How will ODE determine the cohort if it’s not already set?

First ask the question, was the student reported through EMIS the previous year?

If Yes:

If the SSID for the student WAS reported to ODE via EMIS in the prior year by any public district or community school in Ohio, the cohort will be determined by the grade level as of October 1st. If the student was reported the prior year, but does not attend a public district or community school in Ohio as of October 1st then ODE will look at the grade level of the student as of October 1st the following school year.

If No:

If the SSID for the student WAS NOT reported by any public district or community school in Ohio in the prior year then ODE will use the Fiscal Year Began 9^th Grade to calculate the cohort.

8th to 9th Grade in same year:

If the SSID for the student WAS NOT reported by any public district or community school in Ohio in the prior year and was not already assigned a cohort, ODE will use the Fiscal Year Began 9^th Grade to calculate the cohort.

If the SSID for the student WAS reported to ODE via EMIS in the prior year by any public district or community school in Ohio and is promoted to grade 9 before October 1st in the same school year, the cohort will be determined by the grade level of the student as of October 1st, but if the promotion happens after October 1st, the cohort will be determined by the grade level of the student as of October 1st the following school year.

Please use ODDEX to try to verify if a student was reported the previous year. If you find students in ODDEX whose cohort is contradictory to these rules, please send an email including their name and SSID to EMIS _staff.

If the student was not with us last school year, please verify the cohort in ODDEX if available. You may need to update the Fiscal Year Began 9^th Grade which will update the NGA Cohort field.

For Home Schooled Students:

Report the fiscal year that the student “would have begun or did begin ninth grade for the first time in Ohio public or chartered nonpublic school.”

If a district has documentation that the student DID indeed begin 9^th grade in some prior fiscal year, the district would use that date as the 9 grade entry date. In the case of a home schooled student, the “proof” might be something from the student or parent showing when he/she began studying coursework that is considered to be high school level work. If the district never received any documents from the family and you don’t have a way to determine when the student started the high school level coursework, report the date that the student “would have begun” 9^th grade.

Appeals:

The Ohio Department of Education will allow districts to submit cohort appeals if another district has set the cohort and they reported incorrectly and you have supporting documentation to this claim. If it was your own district who set the cohort incorrectly, the appeal will be denied.