In this paper, we describe the problems inherent in current criteria employed by federal agencies for estimating special education graduation and dropout rates. In addition, we present changes in reporting categories proposed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in reporting categories, and discuss the potential implications of these changes for the ways in which special education students may be counted. We examine Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) reports on exiting behavior of special education students. Figures in OSEP's five exiting categories demonstrate NCES's inflated estimates of special education dropouts. Finally, OSEP's use of the “Other Basis for Exiting” category is examined in light of apparent beliefs that cases recorded in this category are undocumented dropouts.
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