Completers and Dropouts Reporting

ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: 16
POLICY CODE: JF

TO: Superintendents of Schools and Private School Administrators of 60% Publicly Funded Private Schools
FROM: Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner
DATE: November 19, 2007
RE: Completers and Dropouts Reporting

The student information data collected through the Maine Education Data Management System (MEDMS) Student Reporting Module will be utilized to determine 2006-07 completion and dropout statistics needed for federal reporting requirements.

In order to verify that exit data reported in the Maine Education Data Management Information (MEDMS) is correct, there are two reports within the MEDMS Reporting Portal that each superintendent must review and certify.

The first report is the “Completers” report (Graduates) which lists students who have completed high school in the administrative unit. Only school administrative units that have schools that graduate secondary students need to review and certify this report.

The second report is the “Dropouts” report which lists students who have dropped out of schools in the administrative unit by grade level. This report needs to be reviewed and certified by all school administrative units that operate school(s) that have any combination of grades that include any grade 7 through 12.

Please review these MEDMS Reports and certify them by faxing the certification forms (included with this letter – see links below) to fax number (207) 624-6791. These certifications are NOT optional as in the past. Please fax the certifications to the number listed above on or before December 15, 2007. Corrections can be made by sending a Microsoft Excel file to mailto:charlotte.ellis@maine.gov . The Excel file must include all of the following for each student:

o State student ID,
o First name,
o Last name,
o MEDMS School ID from which the student has exited, and
o The appropriate exit code.

MEDMS exit codes are listed at: http://www.maine.gov/education/medms/Data/ExitType/ExitTypeCodes.htm

Please note that exit codes 21, 23, 25, 97, 99 all equate to dropout status. Code 22 is not applicable for Maine, as we do not have an exit exam. Descriptions of these codes are available at the above website.

Personnel with the role of “SAU Admin” or “Student Admin” may access these reports in the MEDMS Student Information System by logging on to the MEDMS home page and implementing the following steps:

Step 1. Click on “MEDMS Log In”, type in Username and Password
Step 2. Under “Application”, select “Reports”, then click on “Go”
Step 3. Under “Action”, select “Portal”, then click on “Go”
Step 4. Select “Student Data” from the list of available folders
Step 5. There are then 4 choices of reports. The reports needed to certify graduation and dropout data are “Completers” and “Dropouts.”

Attachments:
2006-2007 Dropouts Certification Form – Due December 15, 2007 http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/2008/adlet/200607dropoutcertform.pdf
2006-2007 Completers Certification Form – Due December 15, 2007 http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/2008/adlet/200607completerscertform.pdf