TIG Self-Advocacy Guidance Google Site 
Wisconsin County Community on Transition (CCoT) Toolkit Indicator 1
The Percent of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma.
Defining a Graduate
- a student who has met the requirements established by a school board for a prescribed course of study.
- Regular diploma requirements-same for students with disabilities as students without disabilities.
DPI analyzes trend data over a three-year period to identify districts for improvement.
It is important to understand state and district data around graduation rates in order to improve student outcomes. Indicator 1 data can be viewed on the DPI Public Portal as well as on the individual district WISE Dash 2.0 secure home. Note that the Public Portal redacts all identifying student information as well as information if there is a cell size of 5 or less.
Suggested trends in graduation rate information to view
- Suggested 5 years of Graduation Data
- Comparison of SwD and SwoD
- Comparison of students by race
In reviewing this data, consider the following trend data
Graduation Rate by Disability Status, 5 Year Trend Data- Although graduation from high school in four years is the goal, both state and federal laws allow extra time in school for students with and without identified disabilities to complete their high school education if needed. For students with a disability, this should be an IEP team decision and specific to each student. Wisconsin continues to see a gap between students without disabilities and students with disabilities graduating within 4 years. In the 2021–2022 school year, the national average graduation rate for all students was 87%, while Wisconsin exceeded this with a graduation rate of 90%.
Graduation Rate by Race, 5 Year Trend Data– While the state’s overall graduation rate ranks near the top nationally, that is not the case for all racial subgroups. Significant disparities emerge when examining graduation rates by race. In Wisconsin, 94% of white students graduated, compared to just 71% of Black students, highlighting a 23-percentage-point gap, the largest racial graduation disparity in the United States. Hispanic students in Wisconsin graduated at a rate of 82%, resulting in a 12-percentage-point gap compared to white students, still a concern, though below the national average disparity. Additionally, graduation rates for students with disabilities reveal further challenges: in Wisconsin, 72.8% of students with disabilities graduated, compared to 90% of all students, a gap of 17.2 percentage points. While this is slightly better than the national average for students with disabilities (71%), it still reflects a significant disparity in outcomes.
Make Informed Decisions to Increase Graduation Outcomes
The use of data allows district teams to make informed decisions about the interventions that can help to increase graduation outcomes for subgroups of students within their district. Get more information about Indicator 1 from your local TIG coordinator.