Audit Finds Inaccurate Reporting of School Data

A state audit finds high school graduation rates reported by some schools, as well as statewide rates reported to the federal government by the State Education Department, are unreliable and innacurate. The Department used inaccurate data reported by schools to calculate 2004 high school graduation rates for local and national reporting purposes. However, that information did not include data on approximately 19,000 of the 75,000 students who started ninth grade four years earlier. The audit concludes a new system under development could help schools better track their students.