City Schools Finds Grade Changing and Overreporting of Students

Baltimore City Schools has released the damning findings of an internal investigation into a west Baltimore high school, Augusta Fells Savage, where Fox45 News uncovered serious allegations of grade changing and enrollment irregularities.

The report confirms administrators at Augusta Fells improperly changed grades and pressured teachers to give students grades they did not earn. The internal investigation also found students were scheduled in classes that did not exist and/or that they did not attend, when they should have been withdrawn due to lack of attendance.

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Project Baltimore spoke with Tiffany France, whose son attended Augusta Fells. France’s son passed just three classes in four years but was still being promoted through the course levels. With a GPA of 0.13, he ranked 62 of 120 in his class. According to her son’s transcripts, he was late or absent to school 359 days.

North Avenue’s internal investigation confirms at least 15 students improperly received passing grades during the 2016-2017 school year through the 2018-2019 school year. {snip}

Fox45 News also obtained a list of 21 seniors enrolled at Augusta Fells in 2019. These students were enrolled, even though it appears they were not attending the school. Ghost students, as they’re known by educators, can be used to inflate enrollment numbers and increase the tax dollars a school receives. We spoke to a man who was enrolled at the school, even though he was in jail.

North Avenue’s internal investigation confirms these findings, saying approximately 100 students had questionable status {snip}

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