Ohio auditor: Probe not affected by report card release

COLUMBUS (AP) — Releasing delayed state report cards won’t hamper an investigation into potential tampering with school attendance numbers, Ohio’s state auditor told education leaders today.

Appearing before the state school board, Dave Yost said posting the annual performance assessments would have no impact on his investigators, adding that fear of posting bad data is probably misplaced.

“This is not a new issue. The situation’s been going on for some time,” he said. “I would suggest to you that the data was probably bad last year in the same way.”

Yost began a statewide inquiry after irregular attendance and enrollment practices surfaced in Columbus, Toledo and suburban Cincinnati districts. Removing poor students from the books can boost performance measures that determine government aid and improve school performance rankings.

Out of concern such practices created flaws in the report cards, the school board voted last month to delay their release. It was an unprecedented move with ripple effects across the state, as the report cards are used to determine eligibility for certain programs and the fate of some charter schools, as well as providing school-by-school information to students and their families.

The board could vote as soon as Tuesday on whether to post the report cards.