An audit of the St. Louis schools says the district is violating state law by promoting to the next grade level thousands of students who cannot adequately read.
The finding was part of a report released last week by Missouri’s state auditor, Thomas Schweich, who took the district to task on a number of issues, from financial planning to inadequate measures to prevent test fraud.
More than 2,000 students tested at the “below basic” level the lowest performance category in the 2011 and 2012 reading section of the Missouri Assessment Program. Yet just 158 and 128 students were held back those years, respectively. Holding back each child who is behind in reading, as mandated by state law, would be too costly, administrators told Mr. Schweich’s staff.
