An independent audit presented at the Baltimore City Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night found no evidence of widespread grade-changing practices during the 2022-23 school year. However, the audit focused solely on the previous academic year, after the district had implemented new policies to address the issue.

Baltimore City Schools hired the consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal to conduct the audit following a 2022 report by the Inspector General for Education, Rick Henry, which revealed that at least 12,542 failing grades were changed to passing between 2016 and 2020.

While Henry had recommended an outside agency audit the grading practices for the 2021-22 school year, the school system did not comply with that recommendation.

The audit found a total of 4,091 final grade changes that took place outside of the grading window, of which only four instances involved a grade being changed from failing to passing.

During the board meeting, Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises questioned the auditor, “The final grades that were moved from fail to pass was four, correct or incorrect?” The auditor confirmed this finding.

Key findings from the audit include:

1. Lack of timely grade entry is the primary driver of grade-change-related issues at City Schools.
2. Training and communication have improved to support adherence to the Grading Policy, but consistency in planning and delivery of training could benefit from continued investment.
3. The Grading Policy is stronger and more comprehensive than many peer districts.
4. Grade change forms are rarely used where required, and when used, they are often incomplete, thus not fully complying with the Grading Policy.
5. Compliance monitoring has focused on proactively reducing late grade entries but has not actively addressed grade changes.

“This review, which was an outside review from actual experts, showed that, and I think that’s what the public needs to take confidence in. And actually, the public should take confidence in the notation that we have one of the strongest policies in the state of Maryland,” Santelises told Project Baltimore following the meeting.

Inspector General Henry released a statement applauding the improvements made by Baltimore City Public Schools regarding grade changes, stating, “The recent review conducted by Alvarez & Marsal demonstrates that the OIGE’s findings and recommendations were taken seriously, and policies and procedures are now in place to protect the integrity of the grading system.”

This audit follows years of reporting by Project Baltimore, which began investigating grade-changing allegations in 2017. The school system subsequently passed a new grade-changing policy in 2019, further adjusting it in 2022 to require principals to notify teachers in writing before student grades are adjusted. The school system is currently reviewing the grading policy again.