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Highlights
Findings and recommendations for the Preuss School:
Grades: The public charter school lacks adequate procedures for teachers to follow when assigning grades, allowing for some inconsistencies.
Student support: The school should implement policies addressing the needs of struggling students.
Record keeping: Preuss should further improve the security of student records.
Board meetings: Agendas and minutes should be posted on the school and university Web sites.
Leadership: The school should designate a university administrator as the school's primary contact for day-to-day interaction with the university.
Trustees: Board membership should include a cross-section of representation and opinions, including parents, teachers and others.
SOURCE: MGT of America, Inc.
Online: To review a consultant's report on the Preuss School, go to uniontrib.com/more/preuss
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More than nine months after an audit found extensive grade tampering at the nationally acclaimed Preuss School on the UCSD campus, a new report raises questions about some of its academic practices.
Diplomas were awarded to students who did not meet the public charter school's rigorous graduation requirements, and some failing students were placed in classes they weren't prepared for, according to a report released yesterday by Sacramento-based MGT of America, Inc.
The report was commissioned following a University of California San Diego internal audit released in December that found 427 grades over six years were either inappropriately changed or didn't reflect teachers' records.
The report released yesterday said the school had made strides in addressing these issues, and it commended Preuss for being innovative and dedicated to the mission of preparing students – all of whom come from disadvantaged families – for higher learning. It concluded that the school's educational practices and program are strong and noted that 96 percent of graduates in 2007 were offered admission to four-year colleges and universities.
But the 71-page report also identified various management, organizational and educational problems. It made 50 recommendations ranging from term limits on governing board members to teacher guidelines for establishing grades.
Preuss board Chairman Sandra Daley, who is also UCSD's associate chancellor and chief diversity officer, said, “I see this report as a template for the future.”
Paul Drake, UCSD's senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, who has oversight responsibility for Preuss, said, “I think overall the report is very positive and helpful. It says overall the educational programs are very strong and makes recommendations of management.”
Though Preuss' graduation requirements exceed San Diego Unified's, the consultant's review of transcripts found that diplomas were awarded to students who met only district requirements.
The report suggested that if Preuss wishes to continue awarding diplomas to these students, it should differentiate between those diplomas and the ones that reflect Preuss' higher standards.
Preuss Principal Scott Barton said 10 percent to 15 percent of students who received diplomas met only district standards. Largely, they fell short of the four-year lab science requirement. Barton said the graduation policy will need to be revised to incorporate the district's minimum requirements, which are higher than the state's. Students who meet the more rigorous Preuss standards would receive a special diploma.
“We're working on making the transcript more transparent,” he said.
He added that colleges see exactly which classes students take.
Preuss administrators told MGT of America representatives that when students are at risk of falling short of the charter school's graduation requirements, they have at times been given credit for courses they took in middle school.
Barton said this is only applicable to math and foreign language. For example, a Preuss student who needs three years of math might get credit for an eighth-grade algebra course if he or she failed a high-level math course – after passing intermediate algebra. He said the practice is common among California public high schools.
The report also found that Preuss could improve its course offerings for struggling students and should implement policies to address their needs.
While Preuss' “single-track college preparatory curriculum” is a model that has shown success with many students, the review team found failing students placed in increasingly harder courses. Some students were enrolled in classes even though they failed the prerequisites. And after failing for two to three years, crucial academic time has been lost, the report said.
“We've admitted we need to provide the proper support to these students who have failed, and we have not provided the proper support,” Barton said.
Preuss opened in 1999, after the charter for the UCSD-affiliated public school was granted by the San Diego Unified School District. The sixth-through 12th-grade school serves 755 low-income students countywide whose parents or guardians did not graduate from four-year colleges or universities.
The school became a national model for helping poor and minority students get to college, and has been ranked as one of the top 10 high schools in America by U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek magazines.
The school far exceeds the academic requirements of charter schools, said Peter Rivera, who oversees and monitors charters for San Diego Unified.
Although the consultant's findings do not jeopardize Preuss' standing with the district, they do raise some questions.
“Preuss should have a universal graduation requirement, and they should stick to it,” Rivera said.
What's more, he said, the key to Preuss' success will be determined by how its students do in college.
The consultant's report was far more positive than last year's internal audit. That report found that in some cases, students received credit for courses they never took, and in other instances failing grades were omitted from transcripts. Some teachers told auditors they were under pressure to reduce their course rigor to pass more students.
Yesterday's report commended the school for strengthening internal controls related to student grades and records, but made further recommendations such as creating written policies and procedures for grade reporting, verification, change and access.
Sherry Saavedra: (619) 542-4598; sherry.saavedra@uniontrib.com
