City Schools to Audit Test Scores Amid Suspicions
Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 | Updated 12:00 PM EDT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
These are some of the books being assigned to teenagers to read this summer by high schools around the country: "Angela's Ashes," "Hamlet," "The Oedipus Cycle," "Three Cups of Tea," "The Bookseller of Kabul," and "The Secret Life of Bees.(AP Photo?
Education officials in New York City are concerned that some public schools may be manipulating grades to cover up lackluster performance.
The New York Times reports that city officials informed school principals Friday that they would implement a new auditing system to double-check standardized test scores, reported graduation rates and grading practices.
The move comes after observers noticed that high numbers of students were being given the minimum score on state Regents exams.
That has raised suspicions that some teachers may be giving their pupils a higher grade than they deserve to prevent them from flunking.
City officials have said they do not believe grade inflation or test manipulation is widespread.
New York has the nation's largest public school system.
