Pending Attendance Investigation, Officials Release Only Data,    No Grades
The Ohio Department of Education has released school performance data delayed by a statewide attendance-tampering investigation. Officials today released the partial report card results. The attendance rate, performance index and overall rating were omitted. The 19-member state school board cleared the delay last month, fearing that underlying data might be flawed. After allegations arose in three districts, state Auditor Dave Yost launched a statewide investigation into whether low-performing students are improperly removed from the rolls to boost school performance rankings and employee bonuses. Because a host of funding and programming decisions hinges on the data, the state board later voted to release portions of the report cards unaffected by Yost's probe.