Student End of Year ~ Frequently Asked Questions
2011-12 Reporting Year
Language Background, Language Proficiency, and ELL / Page 1Colorado Basic Literacy Act / Page 1
Membership Base Adjustments and Data Corrections / Pages 1-3
Facility Students / Pages 3-4
Entry, Exit, and Retention Codes / Pages 4-6
Documentation of Transfers / Pages 7
Post Collection Process / Pages 7-9
Additional Questions / Pages 9-11
EOY – Frequently Asked Questions 6/29/12
English Language Learners
1)What if a student exits an ESL or Bilingual program after monitoring, leaves my district, and then returns the following year?
a)Returning students should be re-tested for language proficiency. If they are found to be Limited English Proficient (LEP) or Non English Proficient (NEP), they can be returned to an ESL or Bilingual program. These students should then be coded with an ESL or Bilingual status of 1.
b)NOTE: If an ELL student exits your district but returns before the end of the same school year, they do not need to be re-tested for language proficiency. The coding in their language fields (language background, language proficiency, and either ESL or bilingual) must show consistency with (or appropriate progression from) the prior years’ coding in these fields.
2)How should a district code a student whose home language survey indicates that their home language is not English but, after taking an English Language assessment, is found to be Fluent English Proficient (FEP)?
a)The student’s Language Background should be 0002 (English), and he or she should have a Language Proficiency code if 0 (N/A).
Colorado Basic Literacy Act ~ CBLA
- NOTE: CBLA fields are no longer reported in the Student End of Year collection. Please ZERO fill all fields.
- The complete text of the Colorado Basic Literacy Act legislation can be found at:
Adjustments to Graduation Cohort Membership Base or Beginning Counts
1)Q: I think it would be great to go into more detail about how the graduation rates are calculated.
a)More information about graduation rates is available at under on-time 4 year graduation rate information. You can find FAQs, talking points, and regulation information.
2)Q: When should I graduate transition students?
a)Transition students should not be coded as graduates until the time when they actually exit the school. Students coded as graduates or completers are NOT eligible for future Student October funding.
3)Under what circumstances should I make a graduation membership base adjustment? How do I make such an adjustment if it is necessary?
a)If a school district has received notification that a student who was reported as a dropout, expulsion,or GED transfer is completing or has completed their education through another education agency, a cohort membership base adjustment can be made. Adjustments can only be made for students who were reported as dropouts, expulsions or GED transfers from schoolsthat are administered by the reporting district.
i)Example: A female American Indian student drops out of school A as a 10th grader in 2010-11. In 2011-12, school A receives a request for records from school B indicating that a student has returned to school. This student would have an entry code of 13 in school B. In the adjustment fields, school A would enter an adjustment code of 41 as well as the school code, grade level, ethnicity and gender that were used when the student was reported as a dropout. Additional fields would be zero filled.
Adjustment fields in the student’s 2010-2011 Header File:
Adjustment School Year #1 / Adjustment Justification Code #1 / Adjustment School Code #1 / Adjustment Grade Level #1 / Adjustment Race/ Ethnicity #1 / Adjustment Gender #120102011 / 41 / A Code / 100 / 01 / 01
Entrance, Retention and Exit fields in the student’s 2010-2011 Detail File:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08202011 / 13 / 110 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
4)How can I correct inaccurate data that was submitted in last year’s collection?
a)Once data has been submitted to CDE and approved/finalized by a district, it cannot be altered. However, by entering an adjustment code of 66 in the adjustment fields of a student’s header file, you can “correct” inaccurate student data submitted in the prior collection in two specific areas: race/ethnic category and gender. It is important to remember that such data corrections can only be made for students who are in grades 8 through 12 during the current collection year (i.e. those who were in grades 7 through 11 during the school year for which the data is being corrected).
b)NOTE: With a data correction, unlike a graduation cohort correction, you only enter adjustment information for the school year and the field which was incorrectly submitted. It is important that the adjustment school year cannot be equal to the currently reported school year. Therefore, for a data correction (adjustment justification code 66), the adjustment school year must be the year of the previous EOY collection.
i)Example: While preparing the files for the 2011-2012 submission, you realize that one Hispanic female student was incorrectly reported as a White female in the 10th grade at school 3333 in the 2010-2011 EOY report.
Selected background information fields and adjustment fields in the student’s 2011-2012 Header File:
Race / Gender / Adjustment School Year #1 / Adjustment Justification Code #1 / Adjustment School Code #1 / Adjustment Grade Level #1 / Adjustment Race/ Ethnicity #1 / Adjustment Gender #104 / 01 / 20102011 / 66 / 0000 / 000 / 05 / 00
Entrance, Retention and Exit fields in the student’s 2011-2012 Detail File:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08202011 / 02 / 110 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
Facility Students
1)What happens to students who graduate as some facilities offer diplomas (i.e Third Way) and some do not. So if, Third Way informs us they are graduating a student, does CDE remove them from our cohort?
a) No, in the event that a student graduates or completes with the state, the last public school attended prior to the facilitywill receive credit for that student as a graduate or completer.
2)Will you explain when a student transfers from ABC school to a facility offering educational services; do they remain in graduating cohort?If so and they leave the facility and the facility does not notify us, we are still responsible for where they go?
a)Yes, the student remains in your cohort. The H.B. 1274 legislation requires facilities to notify districts when a student is discharging from the facility and returning to the public school if the student “has been determined to be at-risk to self or community within the prior 12 months”. It’s talking about kids who have exhibited dangerous behavior in the prior 12 months. But there is no requirement for the facility to notify the district if the student does not fall under those criteria or if the student is not returning to the district. We certainly encourage them to not only notify the district, but develop a transition plan for the student re-entering the district. We will continue to work with facilities to develop a better system of notification.
3)ADE Documentation for Facilities to be compiled like the state reporting contact lists are done. They should have a primary contact at the facility that a district can contact to confirm the enrollment of or document the exit of students. This would help us to help ourselves when trying to track those students.
a)There is a list with these contacts posted at as Appendix A.5.1 - Contacts for Facilities and State Operated Programs
Entry, Exit, and Retention Codes
5)When should I use exit type code ‘00’? How does CDE define this exit code?
a)Entering an Exit Type Code of ‘00’ for a student indicates that the student completed the school year in a given grade and school within your district. Exit Type ‘00’ should be used for every student who completes the school year in your district – regardless of his or her anticipated enrollment status at the beginning of the next year. The students described in each of the following scenarios would be assigned an exit code of ‘00’:
i)“Jimmy finished the school year with us, but I know for certain his family is moving to California over the summer.”
ii)“Kate finished middle school this year and will be starting at our high school next year.”
iii)“Tom is a high school senior who will need to repeat 12th grade next year.” (retention code should be ‘1’)
6)How should I code a primary school student who has been retained in a grade?
a)If a student is retained in the primary grades,districts should enter a ‘1’ (Yes, student is being retained in same grade for next school year) in the ‘Retention Code’ field for that student. This action for a student in grades K – 6 will generate a warning, but not an error.
7)How should I code a 7th through 12th grade student who had been retained in a grade?
a)If a student is retained, a ‘1’ should be entered in the ‘Retention Code’ field of the student’s detail file in the collection year during which the student was retained. If the decision to retain a student is made after the EOY submission is complete, or if your district forgets to code a student as retained, you must code the student as starting the next school year in the next highest grade and then do a grade reassignment.
i)Example 1: Your district decides to retain John Smith in the 10th grade at the end of the 2010-2011 year. You are notified of this decision prior to submitting the student’s EOY file:
Entrance, Retention, and Exit fields in the student’s 2010-2011 Detail File:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention Code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08202010 / 02 / 100 / 1 / 00000000 / 00
ii)Example 2: Same scenario as aboveexcept a retention code of ‘1’ is not entered for the student during the 2010-2011 collection:
Entrance, Retention and Exit fields in the student’s 2010-2011 Detail File:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08202010 / 02 / 100 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
Student’s 1st Detail File for 2011-2012:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08212011 / 02 / 110 / 0 / 08212011 / 10
Student’s 2nd Detail File for 2011-2012:
Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type08222011 / 10 / 100 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
iii)Example 3: If you forget to enter a retention code of 1 and the student would have moved from junior high (school number 1234) to high school (school number 5678) if he or she had not been retained:
Entrance, Retention and Exit fields in the student’s 2010-2011 Detail File:
School Num / Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type1234 / 08202010 / 02 / 080 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
Student’s 1st Detail File for 2011-2012:
School Num / Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type5678 / 08212011 / 11 / 090 / 0 / 08212011 / 11
Student’s 2nd Detail File for 2011-2012:
School Num / Entry Date / Entry Type / Entry Grade Level / Retention code / Exit/Withdrawal Date / Exit/Withdrawal Type1234 / 08222011 / 11 / 080 / 0 / 00000000 / 00
Documentation of Transfers
1)How do I know what the adequate documentation of transfer is for exit codes?
a)There is an Adequate Documentation of Transfer List posted at .
2)In what cases do I have to report a transfer as a dropout and why? Can CDE develop a formalized records request form to be used by all Colorado schools to confirm that a transferring student is in attendance at the new school?
a)The final version of the administrative rules for Senate Bill 05-091 was adopted by the Colorado State Board of Education in mid- January 2006. These administrative rules took effect March 2, 2006. Under these new rules, a school district must receive “adequate documentation of transfer” for any student who transfers out of the district. Beginning in the 2005 – 2006 school year, if such documentation is not received, the originating district must code the student as a dropout. In instances where a student transfers into another Colorado public school district, CDE can confirm enrollment in the new school using the student’s SASID number. However, if a student transfers to a private school or a public school outside of Colorado, the administrative rules require either a request for records or other proof of enrollment from the receiving school.
b)CDE has developed several new forms to aid schools and districts in both requesting and providing this required documentation:
i)Records Request Form
ii)Request for Confirmation of Enrollment and Attendance
iii)Parental Notification of Withdrawal
iv)Transfer Student Follow-up form
c)Electronic copies of these forms are available in both English and Spanish on the Student End of Year section of the Automated Data Exchange Project - News and Updates website at:
3)To whom do I send documentation of transfer or proof of enrollment?
a)You do not need to send transfer documentation or other proof of transfer to CDE unless it is requested. Please keep such paperwork with the student’s other education records. Colorado requires that these records be kept on file (physically or electronically) for at least 7 years.
Post Collection Process
1)Is ‘40’ (dropout/discontinued schooling) the only code I can enter in the exit type field for the students listed on the post-collection report?
a)No. If you can verify that a student entered another educational environment (private school, out-of-state school, home school, etc) prior to the end of the currently reported school year, you may change that student’s exit type to the appropriate code. If your district cannot determine what happened to the student, you must change the Exit/Withdrawal Type Code for the student.
b)Beginning with the 2005-2006 EOY collection, other exit codes – besides ‘40’ – are acceptable so long as adequate documentation of transfer is obtained. Colorado Senate Bill 05-091 stipulates that only the following documentation will be considered “adequate documentation of transfer”:
i)A records request from the receiving school.
ii)A confirmation of enrollment/attendance signed by an administrator at the receiving school or program.
iii)A parental notification form signed by the student’s parent or guardian can serve as adequate documentation of a transfer in the event that the student has transferred into a home-based education program (home schooling).
2)I have determined through the RITS system (or a records request) that a student listed on the post-collection report began attending another Colorado school district in the current school year. Do I still need to code the student as a dropout in the current collection year?
a)CDE defines a dropout as: A student who was enrolled in school at any time during the current school year (or current collection period), but leaves school for any reason other than 1) transfer to another educational program, 2) suspension or expulsion, or 3) serious illness or death. According to this definition, any student who withdraws from your district before the end of the school year and does not resume his or her education in another educational environment before the end of the same school year is considered a dropout and should be assigned an exit code of ‘40’.
b)The only exception to this rule is for a student who withdraws within 3 weeks of the end of the school year or completes all assigned coursework. Any student meeting one or both of these requirements should be assigned an exit type code of “00” (completed the school year). If a student’s exit code is changed to “00” as a result of the post collection, CDE will automatically change the student’s exit date to “00000000.” If the student in question is a 12th grader, CDE will also automatically change his or her retention code to “1”.
c)If a student who was coded as a dropout in 2010-2011 is “found” in another Colorado school district in the 2011-2012 school year, you will be prompted, via the errors given in the Post Collection B report,make a membership base adjustment in the 2010-11 EOY collection. This adjustment will remove the student from the denominator in your district’s graduation rate calculation and will thereby improve your graduation rate.
3)Do I need to send a new confirmation (superintendent’s signature page) to CDE after I make these post-collection changes and re-approve my data?
a)As soon as all districts complete the post collection process, CDE will send out an e-mail notifying everyone that the current collection is finished. Once you receive that e-mail notification, please print the final page of the Data Summary Report, have your district superintendent or BOCES director sign the confirmation section, and fax it to Heather Ford-Sajovetz at (303) 866-6888. If you already faxed a confirmation page but had to make exit code changes as a result of the post-collection, you must submit a new confirmation with your superintendent’s signature.
4)What is the process for making the changes called for by the Post-Collection Report?
a)The first step is to change the exit type code for the required student(s), as directed by the post-collection error report. Please note: “Exit Type” is the only data field which can be changed during the post-collection. Changes made to other fields in the header or detail files will result in an error when you resubmit your data.