Congrats Grad

(AL.com file)

Alabama state superintendent Michael Sentance today told the member of the state school board that the state's graduation rate, third-best in the nation, was artificially inflated.

Sentance said he could not say what the rate actually is.

"In some cases, local school systems misstated student records and awarded class credit, resulting in diplomas that were not honestly earned," read an official statement today by the Alabama Department of Education.

Board member Betty Peters said she felt "betrayed." Board member Mary Scott Hunter said the entire department would now be under scrutiny. Other members were concerned about how to win back the trust of lawmakers and the public.

"I hate for people to betray my trust," said board member Ella Bell.

"This is the hard part of the meeting," Sentance told board members assembled in Montgomery. He said the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education identified problems in a review that began earlier this year.

Those two problems were:

Students with special needs whose coursework was not tied to Alabama's academic standards were counted as graduates instead of completers.

The state department was not providing proper monitoring and oversight to school districts to ensure graduation rates were reported accurately.

That lack of monitoring allowed school districts to award diplomas even when students had not actually earned the required credits. Sentance said he could not speculate on how many schools had done so, and state department staff will continue to work with schools to identify problems.

Sentance said he briefed the Governor and legislative leaders just prior to beginning of the meeting this morning.

Governor Robert Bentley issued a statement saying: "I was alarmed and disappointed to learn the numbers have been reported incorrectly to the U.S. Department of Education, to parents, to Legislators and my Office."

Sentance told the board that the state department knew the Alabama Occupational Diploma for students whose coursework was not tied to Alabama's academic standards did not meet the criteria to count those students as graduates.

In 2012, then-superintendent Tommy Bice told board members he would challenge the U.S. Department of Education's decision that students on the occupational diploma track would not be considered graduates, but there is no evidence that decision was ever challenged, Sentance said.

Even without that challenge, the state department issued instructions to school districts that they could count students on the occupational track as regular graduates. However, Sentance said those students accounted for a very small portion of the graduation rate.

Alabama's graduation rate improved by 17 percentage points over a five-year period, rising from 72% in 2010 to 89% in 2015. No other state improved at that rate.

The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to AL.com in mid-November that it was working with the state department of education in Alabama to ensure graduation rates are being properly reported and monitored by local school districts.

Other measures of academic performance, including scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress and the ACT college entrance exam, do not show that level of improvement, causing some to question whether improvement in the graduation rate means anything at all.

Though federal investigators have completed their on-site review, Sentance could not say when a report would be issued as audits of graduation rates in California and one other state that was not named are ongoing.

At this time, OIG investigators were not sure if they would issue three separate reports once all investigations were complete or if individual reports would be issued as each state's investigation was completed.

Sentance said during the meeting the OIG reviewed 2013-2014 graduation rates, but that was not the only year's rate in question.

Sentance said the department bears responsibility for not properly monitoring school districts' awarding of credits. He said he did not expect any graduation rates to be retroactively corrected, but that an asterisk (*) would accompany the graduation rates in question.

The notice of the impending federal investigation came in March 2016. Former superintendent Tommy Bice retired at the end of March 2016.

Board members expressed their appreciation to Sentance for sharing the information with them and said they are confident he will do what is needed to remedy the situation.

"I can't go back in time," Sentance said, in reference to those who may have earned diplomas without merit, but recommended if any student or parent questions whether their student actually earned all credits required for the diploma to contact their high school with those concerns.

Sentance called it a "black eye for the department" and said: ""So many of the schools are doing the right thing. And for this brush to be painted broadly is terribly sad."

Hunter said at one point: "I have been lied to."

Peters said: "I feel betrayed. I asked specific questions about the Alabama Occupational Diploma and was told it wasn't a problem."

Peters added: "I think they need to ask Dr. Bice and (former state superintendent) Dr. Morton what happened."

Update:



Updated at 9:57 p.m. on Dec. 8 to reflect that Sentance said, "This is the hard part of the meeting."