n Special Edition – October 4, 2012
E-News Special Report
Superintendent Responds to Auditor of State's Interim Attendance Investigation Report
The following is a statement issued Oct. 4, 2012 by Columbus City Schools Superintendent/ CEO Gene T. Harris, Ph.D.
View Dr. Harris' announcement here.
The investigation into the District's attendance reporting irregularities has been a subject of great concern – both to me and to our community. More than a year ago I first became aware of inconsistencies in student attendance records in 16 truancy files; I immediately brought the concern to the attention of our Internal Auditor and Auditor of State's investigators.
Notation: The Auditor's report (on page 6 under Objectives and Scope) incorrectly states that "Dr. Harris indicated the Columbus CSD's internal auditor was made aware of these changes from a truancy officer who was handling a court truancy filing."
When our Internal Auditor provided me with an update last June that indicated there were more files containing undocumented changes made within our student information system, I immediately notified the Ohio Department of Education and the Auditor of State's Office, and asked them to conduct an investigation. Today, the Auditor of State issued an interim report on 100 schools across Ohio with the highest percentage of students whose tests score were "rolled up" to the state (is not counted as part of the school or school district's scores).
It should not be surprising that the major metropolitan school districts, including Columbus, would be among the top school districts with the highest number of students rolling up to be counted at the state level. Our student population is extremely mobile in that many students change schools during a school year or leave the district and sometimes return as their family situation changes.
In fact, to follow the transfers of the students whose files were reviewed and who began the 2010-2011 school year at one of the 10 schools audited, the Auditor of State had to look at records in 50 different schools. That illustrates the extent of mobility in our district. We also have a higher number and percentage of students who disengage from the educational system altogether due to family or personal issues.
While I am troubled by the fact that the Auditor reports that some student files targeted for review could not be located, I would want to look at this issue further before drawing any conclusions. The Auditor's investigators undertook a big job in trying to track this many students in a short period of time. As our students move around the district, and in and out of the district, their files move too. If the Auditor would provide me with a list of the files he seeks, I will make it a priority to find those files for his investigators.
While there has been widespread talk of millions of questionable changes made to student records within Columbus City Schools, the Interim Report tells a different story. The 10 schools examined by the Auditor have approximately 4,556 students in total. Of those 4,556 students, the Interim Audit found issues regarding 337 records, or about 7% of the total number of students in those schools. The Auditor of State has not identified those students to us, and we have not had an opportunity to see if we could assist in finding additional information or otherwise explain the reasons for the enrollment break for those students. It is important to note something the Auditor of State said, "You cannot assume that these schools are representative of the entire district. The schools were selected for audit because they had the highest percentage of test scores "rolled up" to the state.
The Auditor of State found that there was no problem with the records of 92.3% of the students at these 10 schools. And, remember, these 10 schools were selected because they had the highest percentage of test scores "rolled up" to the state.
I am concerned that the Interim Report does not address the issue of how districts were to account for students who are not in attendance for significant periods of time. The Auditor agrees that school districts should be held accountable for only those students who are in school, but then deems any withdrawals for excessive absenteeism invalid across the board. My take-away from the Interim Report is that it confirms that districts across the state, not just Columbus, believed that it was permissible under the State guidelines to withdraw students for non-attendance, even though no truancy charges were prosecuted.
The Department of Education's Educational Management Information System (EMIS) reporting program is extremely complex, and there has been very little oversight or monitoring provided to Ohio's school districts to help us navigate all of the regulations and directives.
I agree with the Auditor's suggestion of introducing independent oversight of EMIS monitoring functions. I also agree with the Auditor's suggestion that ODE create a centralized location on its website to provide clear instruction on accountability requirements and how they relate to reporting. Student data concerns and the non-attendance issue in particular, have been openly discussed for several years, and publicly reported in the Plain Dealer, and yet no different direction or guidance has come from the state level. We are now a little more than a month into the new school year. If we need to implement more changes, we need direction now, not six months from now.
We had hoped that even an interim report would provide at least some concrete conclusions or recommendations to help us further improve our attendance data recording and reporting systems, however, we will continue to monitor the issue internally until more information is available.
As for the assertion by some that attendance records were changed by schools to improve State Report Card ratings that is certainly not substantiated by the results of the schools noted in the Auditor's report, as eight of ten school identified were rated as Academic Watch or Academic Emergency on the State of Ohio Report Card.
While we are awaiting specific, conclusive information and recommendations from the Auditor of State, we have already put in place several systems to improve our attendance recording and reporting systems:
- Established strict access protocols for data entry into student records;
- Re-established a District Attendance Accountability Team;
- Established a protocol for student attendance data to be reviewed at the senior leadership level on quarterly basis;
- Implementation of a new student information system (Infinite Campus);
- Implementing staff training for secretaries regarding data entry and documentation requirements; and
- We are reviewing other attendance reporting measures that can be taken within the District.
As superintendent, I have never issued any kind of directive to make changes to student records for any reason. I am determined that we will fully address any shortfalls in student record-keeping and/or reporting. This data is vitally important to us as a management tool – and it is vitally important that the community can trust our information.
It is our expectation that as the Auditor completes his statewide investigation he will provide all parties impacted by this issue (schools, school districts, and ODE) with specific recommendations to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the student data reporting system, including processes, accountability measures, and monitoring.
Columbus City Schools is Ohio's largest school district, with an enrollment of more than 50,000 students located in 116 schools, and employing more than 7,700 staff members.
For more information please contact:
Jeff Warner, Director, Communications and Media Relations
(614) 365-5680
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