2008-2009 Student Mobility Data

The Student Mobility Rate for all Colorado school districts during the 2008-09 academic year was 24.9 percent. The Mobility Incidence Rate for 2008-09 was 27.3 percent.

Mobility Rate Notes

2008-09 was the third year in which the Colorado Department of Education calculated and reported student mobility rates under the guidelines set forth in CCR 301-67 - “Rules for the Administration of Colorado Data Reporting for School Accreditation.”

Mobility Rates for the 2008 – 09 Academic Year

District Level Data

School Level Data

Questions and Answers Regarding Colorado’s Student Mobility Rates

Under what circumstances is a student counted as “mobile”? In general, a student is considered mobile any time he or she enters or exits a school or district in a manner that is not part of the normal educational progression. Examples of normal progression include advancing grades between academic years, matriculating between elementary and middle school or between middle school and high school, and exiting as a graduate or completer at the end of the twelfth grade. “Unanticipated” or “non-normal” movements – such as a mid-year grade advancement, entry into a school or district after October 1, or exit from a school or district before the end of the school year – are considered instances of student mobility.

What is the difference between the Student Mobility Rate and the Mobility Incidence Rate? The Student Mobility Rate is an unduplicated count – meaning that once a student has been counted as mobile once for a given school or district she or he will not be counted again in the same year. In contrast, the Mobility Incidence Rate is a duplicated count. A student who moves in and out of a school multiple times will be counted as mobile multiple times under the Mobility Incidence Rate calculation.

The Student Mobility Rate Calculation:

Unduplicated count of grade K-12 students who moved into or out of the school or district in Year X

Total number of students that were part of the same membership base at any time during Year X

The Mobility Incidence Rate Calculation:

Duplicated count of grade K-12 students who moved into or out of the school or district in Year X

Total number of students that were part of the same membership base at any time during Year X

Example: During the 2008-09 school year, student John Smith transfers from district A to district B. Later that same year, John transfers back to district A for two months, then moves out of the state before the end of the school year.

This would be counted as one instance of Student Mobility for District A (one student moved three times)
This would be counted as one instance of Student Mobility for District B (one student moved in and out of the district)
This would be counted as three instances of Mobility Incidence for District A (two exits and one late entry)
This would be counted as two instances of Mobility Incidence for District B (one late entry and one early exit)

What is the difference between the school mobility rates and the district mobility rates? If a student transfers from one school to another within the same district, the student is not counted as mobile at the district level (because the student did not enter or exit the district). However, both schools would count the student as mobile as part of the school mobility rates.

How are the State Mobility Rates calculated? The state pupil count (the denominator for both mobility rates) is the sum of the pupil counts for all districts. Similarly, the total mobile student count and the total instances of mobility (the numerators for the Student Mobility Rate and the Mobility Incidence Rate, respectively) are the sum of the district totals in these two categories.

Definitions of Terms Used in the Mobility Rate Reports

Pupil Count: The total (cumulative) number of students in membership at any time during the academic year.

Instructional Program Service Type (IPST): Services provided by schools and/or districts for students identified as belonging to one or more of the categories below:

Students with Disabilities: Students who have been formally identified as having physical or health conditions that may have a significant impact on the student’s ability to learn and therefore warrant placing the student on an Individual Educational Program (IEP).

Limited English Proficient: This designation encompasses all students identified as either non-English proficient or limited English proficient. Non-English proficient is defined as a student who speaks a language other than English and does not comprehend, speak, read, or write English. Limited English proficient is defined as a student who comprehends, speaks, reads, or writes some English, but whose predominant comprehension or speech is in a language other than English. Districts must provide language services to all non-English proficient and limited English proficient students.

Economically Disadvantaged: Student qualifies for either the free or reduced lunch program. The Federal National School Lunch Act establishes eligibility for the reduced price lunch program for families with income up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level (in 2005, this amount was $35,798 for a family of four). Families with income up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for the free lunch program (in 2005 this amount was $25,155 for a family of four).

Migrant: Students enrolled in a specially designed program for children who are, or whose parent or spouse is a migratory agricultural worker, and who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to obtain, or accompany such parent or spouse in order to obtain, temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural work has moved from one school district to another.

Title 1: Students that are identified by the school as failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the State’s challenging student academic achievement standards on the basis of multiple, educationally related, objective criteria established by the school.

Homeless: According to the McKinney Act, a “homeless individual”: lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

Gifted and Talented: Students who have been formally identified, using district wide procedures aligned with CDE guidelines, as being endowed with a high degree of exceptionality or potential in mental ability, academics, creativity, or talents (visual, performing, musical arts, or leadership.