State Gives Columbus Schools Poor Report Card

The Columbus Schools are showing a decline in state test results. The Ohio Department of Education's annual report card gives the district a grade of C, one-half point above a D grade. The Department says student test results are lower in nearly all subjects and grade levels. The Department and the District are not saying if the scores are related to the attendance-fixing scandal. Meanwhile Superintendent Gene Harris says some principals may have received financial bonuses by changing student attendance records. She says schools could qualify for bonuses by improving student performance on state tests. Harris claims not to have known about the scandal, though district employees familiar with the issue have said otherwise. Harris says some of her 200 principals told her in June they were trained in how to change data by a now-reassigned district official.