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In the Unit Dashboard view, there is now a “Youth Retention” metric towards the top of the screen. I’m trying to understand how it is calculated because I can’t seem to make this math for my unit.
While we did not have any AOLs the past 2 years, we had 3 scouts opt-out this year. Last year we ended with 25 scouts, meaning 22 returned this scouting year. The unit dashboard Youth Retention seems low based on my mathing.
Does anyone have a path to understanding what is going into this metric so that we can understand it better?
I’ve been trying to figure out the same thing. I even threw ChatGPT at the problem of reverse engineering the formula given a few example datasets. No dice. There is some hidden magic embedded in that metric and even state of the art AI doesn’t get it.
Seriously though, can someone on the tools team help illuminate?
I have similar questions. My primary units retention is very low; we do experience a lot of churn, we’ve been recruiting about 20 new scouts a year and losing 8-10 a year (Sep-Sep); but I don’t think it’s that low. The second part of how I think the math is broken here is when I then scroll down on the dashboard and look youth membership, growth, the pack is not a “go” or “scouting emblem” in the dashboard, the pack is not getting credit for year-over-year growth. 4 years ago we had 10 scouts, today we have 42. Per the District Cub Scout Detail Membership Report the pack officially had 30 scouts last 1 March 2024, and now has 37 scouts 1 March 2025 (we also have 5 scouts pending paper renewals).
I do this sort of thing for a living. My recommendation for the growth issue is that whomever maintains this should look at the SQL query logic behind the Cub Scout Detail Membership Report and compare that to the SQL query logic behind the growth metric.
I do not know what to recommend for the retention percentage issues that everyone seems to have, I know my pack has issues with retention, but they are not 43.8% level bad.
I anyone from the national data team wants to dig deeper into my unit numbers we’re pack 233, council 636.
Just something to add to my units retention metrics incase someone from national is watching and wants to dig deeper. We recruited 23 new scouts in the past 12 months, we have lost 7, have 3 pending separation (not renewing as of 12/31/24), and 3 graduated from the pack to a troop (and renewed at those troops). Looking at those numbers and not looking at any of the cubs that stayed with the pack and renewed it puts us at a 43.5% retention (which is really close to the 43.8% that the retention metric shows). Is this how retention is being calculated for the unit dashboards? Is the dashboard metric only looking at status changes and not taking year-over-year renewals into consideration?
I just found the algorithm to get your unit retention metric. This matches perfect for my pack to get the retention percentage on the dashboard.
The algorithm does not look at any new scouts at all; it only looks at scouts with a previous membership that were renewed, expired, dropped, or transferred.
So if a unit takes the total of returning(ed) and renewed scouts, add in dropped scouts, add in expired scouts that are still on your Scoutbook+ roster, and add in any transfers (including AOLs that moved up to a troop) you get the denominator for your division operation. Your numerator is the sum total of all scouts that returned and renewed (does not including pending renewals/expired scouts on your Scoutbook+ roster).
This is how the youth retention percentage is calculated (based on my jamming of numbers).
I am still trying to understand how the Growth metric is calculated, my pack has year-over-year growth and we are a nogo in this metric somehow.
John - thank you for hand-jamming to discover the algo. I followed your lead but had to include scouts that registered for the first time up until August 2024 to get to the right numbers for my Pack. I’m glad to know we at least have a frame of reference to share with our unit leaders as they ask where or how this number comes about.
Was there anything that stood out about those new registrations before 9/1 ? Lions maybe, or previous members that rejoined after a break from the program?
No, it was a single female scout that is a sibling. I find it interesting because she shows up in the “New” section as well. But I couldn’t make it math without her in there.
Is there information regarding national membership retention data we can share with the commissioners in our council? I am meeting with commissioners this Saturday, and would like to include some retention facts about the two areas listed below.
RETENTION - CROSSOVERS
National retention of boys AOL crossover to Troops?
National retention of girls AOL crossover to Troops?
RETENTION - HOW LONG DO THEY STAY (National Averages)
How many years on average do boys spend active in a Scouts BSA Troop?
How many years on average do girls spend active in a Scouts BSA Troop?
Thank you I appreciate any assistance anyone can provide.
In Service,
Roger Stearns
583, AAC Retention and Older Youth Programs
Thank you Ronald. I went with the retention rate for the current year. I then reviewed several College of Commissioner Science courses, Aaron on Scouting, and the Scouts Smart website. Locally our retention rate of AOLs crossing over to a troop is 51.5%. By gender for boys is 50.5% and for girls is 59%. From the other sources I discovered:
The average tenure of a new scout is 29 months.
In at age 10/11 and out by 13 or 14
We lose 30 percent within their first year
We lose 50 percent of all Scouts BSA between the ages of 13 and 15.
It takes less effort to keep a scout than to recruit a new one.
Yeah, in a nutshell. Though there are factors outside of the unit control. At my pack, my COR has made several attempts to contact every family that has dropped or is missing significant amounts of meetings. She consistently gets 1 of 3 responses: A) Just not working out (and they do no want to provide any insight into how to make it work out). B) Can’t afford it (Our pack charges ZERO membership dues and they don’t want to work with the COR to tap into our scholarship funds for the national and council membership fee). C) Schedule doesn’t work for us (which is confusing as all rank required den and pack meetings are the same night each week, the same night as recruitment and signup nights). I spoke with my DE yesterday and he called every dropped family in the district (from the past year) to try and re-engage and he basically got the same 3 responses and ZERO re-engagement.
It’s just crazy that a DE calling a family personally and asking what them what he needs to do to keep them in scouting and the response is “just not working out, gotta go!” click.
I don’t think it is looking at the month at all. My argument for that is that based on my unit and digging into the numbers and rosters, scouts that dropped out and did not renew due to ineligibility (aging out of the program and not transferring to a troop) are included in the March even though they have a membership expiration in September.
This is the retention calculation that gets exactly the same retention percentage as the dashboard for my unit.
(scouts that returned and renewed) DIVIDED BY (returned and renewed scouts + dropped scouts + expired scouts that are still on your Scoutbook roster + any transferred scout)
