Finding Text
Finding: District procedures did not always ensure that adjustments to the high school cohort graduation rate were supported by required confirmations. Criteria: Title 20, Section 7801(25), United States Code, requires the District to maintain appropriate documentation to support the removal of a student?s count from the 4-year cohort (defined as a group of students on the same schedule to graduate) used to calculate the high school cohort graduation rate. To remove a student?s count from the cohort, the District must confirm, in writing, that the student transferred from the District, emigrated to another country, transferred to a prison or juvenile facility, or is deceased. Additionally, a student who is retained in the same grade, enrolls in a General Educational Development Program (GED), or leaves school for any other reason may not be counted as having transferred from the District for the purpose of calculating the graduation rate and must remain in the cohort. To confirm that a student transferred out, official documentation must be obtained that the student enrolled in another school or in an educational program that culminates in the award of a regular high school diploma. Condition: To determine whether the District maintained appropriate documentation to support the removal of the 1,066 students from the 2021-22 fiscal year graduation rate cohort for the eight Title I District high schools, we requested District records supporting 25 selected students who were removed from the cohort. Our review disclosed that District records did not comply with the Federal documentation requirements for the removal of 8 students from the cohort. Specifically: ? For 3 students, District personnel indicated that the students or their parents expressed intentions for the students to transfer to other educational programs, such as online programs provided by for-profit companies. However, District personnel did not confirm of record that the students enrolled in programs that culminated in the award of a regular high school diploma. ? For 2 students, District personnel indicated that the students or their parents verbally indicated that the students enrolled in other State public schools; however, confirmation of these enrollments was not documented. ? For 2 students, District notes of conversations with parents and District employee e-mails indicated that the students enrolled in out-of-State public schools; however, confirmation of these enrollments was not documented. Subsequent to our inquiry, in October 2022 the District obtained confirmation for our review that 1 of the students had enrolled in an out-of-State school. ? For 1 student, District personnel indicated the student was incorrectly removed from the cohort due to a clerical error. Cause: District personnel indicated that the documentation deficiencies occurred because school personnel lacked recordkeeping training and the District did not perform monitoring to ensure appropriate records were maintained. Effect: Without appropriate documentation supporting adjustments to the 4-year cohort and related graduation rate calculation, the District cannot demonstrate that the calculation was accurate, limiting the usefulness of the graduation rate as an academic indicator. Recommendation: The District should enhance procedures to ensure that required confirmations supporting adjustments to the 4-year cohort and related graduation rate calculation are obtained before adjustments are made. Such enhancements should include appropriate training and monitoring to ensure that the required confirmations are timely obtained and maintained. District Response: Pasco County Schools has been, and remains, committed to the highest standards of fidelity in service of accurate data reporting and adjusted cohort composition. As a result of this preliminary and tentative finding we will adhere to an action plan that will articulate steps towards improvement based on enhanced training structures and more detailed guiding documents. Please see the accompanying Corrective Action Plan for further explanation.