SC school district audited for ‘alarming’ grading issues

A Midlands school district is under the state’s microscope for what one state official called “alarming” grading issues that raise questions about whether some students received diplomas without the grades to earn them.

The S.C. Department of Education told Lexington 2 that the department was auditing its 2021 graduating class and would monitor the graduating class in 2022 from Airport and Brookland-Cayce high schools.

“The office will audit the transcripts and PowerSchool data for all seniors who graduated in the spring and summer of 2021 and conduct a preliminary review of the graduating class of 2022,” department official Angel Malone wrote to Superintendent Nicholas Wade on Nov. 9.

The State has asked the education department for the results of the audit.

In a statement provided to The State on Wednesday, Lexington 2 said the department had asked for information “student data and procedures related to student records.”

“While the District cannot comment on matters concerning any individual student(s), the District has and continues to cooperate with the Department of Education regarding the general concerns outlined by the Department,” the statement reads. “We will ensure that any and all measures are taken to address challenges and identify opportunities moving forward. We are appreciative to our students and families and encourage any with specific questions to direct those to their principals.

The statement concludes with, “This will not in any way impact any student who is going to receive a diploma at this week’s ceremonies, or past graduates.”

The audit arose after state officials say a request in August for a diploma for a 2021 Brookland-Cayce graduate raised red flags.

“The aforementioned issues are alarming as they do not align with the expectations for ensuring that every student meets the South Carolina Profile of a Graduate,” Malone wrote.

Brookland-Cayce’s request for a diploma raised “several issues of concern.” The student had failed four classes required for graduation, but was allowed to complete the required credit “during the school’s extended school year through the district’s credit recovery program.”

“However, the policy states that a student must score a minimum grade of fifty-one in the initial credit class to be eligible for participation in the credit recovery program,” the department found. “According to the transcript and the PowerSchool data, the student earned a zero in Economics, a twenty-eight in U.S. History and Constitution, a fifty in Government, and a twenty-five in Probability and Statistics.

“(T)he policy also states that the student must achieve sufficient mastery to benefit from the credit recovery program. It is highly unlikely this was possible, especially with the aforementioned final grades.”

The department’s letter goes on to question even those low grades, noting that in the Government course where the student was ultimately given a 50, “the first quarter grade is a six and the second quarter grade is blank.”

The transcript also indicates the student missed 42 class days in one course and 76 days in another, which means the student should have been dropped without receiving a grade, the department said. In the other two courses, the student was dropped, but still received a final grade.

The student was permitted to take extended credit recovery classes between June 8 and June 19, 2021, amounting to nine school days in total.

“There is concern over the student actually recovering four classes in nine days,” Malone wrote. “Based on the grades the student received in the initial classes, the student should have retaken the courses.”

Lexington 2 operates two high schools for 8,600 students in the Cayce-West Columbia area. In its letter, the education department requests the district provide transcripts for spring and summer 2021 graduates for review, as well as the most recent semester for spring 2022 graduates.