Graduation rates for Alabama and schools in the Selma-Dallas County area may seem lower than last year. But statistics in the past may have been inaccurate.

The National Governor’s Association implemented a new, uniform formula for graduation rates to be used nationwide, but in years past every state used their own formula, so comparing separate states and their graduation rates would be inconsistent.

This year begins the new baseline for determining rates with the Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate which tracks students at the individual level, giving administrators and education department officials more of an insight into who graduates and who does not.

This year’s standings show that graduation rates for both the state and Dallas County have dropped, but according to the Alabama Department of Education this year’s numbers should not be compared to years previous due to the new formula for calculations.

“They dropped a little but we were expecting that,” Vickie Poe, System Coordinator for Dallas County Schools said. “With the new formula the numbers will be different.”

The state graduation rate is 72 percent, 66 percent in Dallas County Schools and 78 percent in Selma.

The previous formula collectively calculated the amount of students that went into the ninth grade and then how many of those students graduated, while this formula will have much more detail.

“People would see the graduation rate at 72 percent and then assume that the other 28 percent was the dropout rate and that’s not the case,” Michael Sibley, Director of Communication for the Alabama Department of Education said. “There are a number of ways for students to leave school.”

Students who withdraw, do not show up when school begins, disappear and move away throughout the year, stay enrolled for five years, receive a GED instead of a diploma and special education students that receive their certificate of completion are all considered non-graduates statistically.

“Now we are able to not only have a graduate and non-graduate percentage but statistics on each non-graduate,” Sibley said.

Now that each student is tracked individually, Poe said school administrators in Dallas County will have to do a better job of tracking students that move away and do not show up.

“It is never easy but its doable,” Poe said. “It is hard to keep up with what students transferred out-of-state but we hope to keep track of students better regardless.”