Gov. Hogan Reacts To Baltimore City Schools Grade Changing Scandal

BALTIMORE, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan is calling for a criminal investigation after a report by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General revealed Tuesday that Baltimore City Public Schools changed thousands of failing grades to passing over a five-year period.

In a letter to Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard, Hogan requested that he investigate and prosecute any "alleged criminal malfeasance, and any other matters revealed in the report."

"Given that in addition to substantial investments of state tax dollars, the school system receives federal funding on an annual basis, I am also referring this matter to the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland to investigate and, where appropriate, bring federal criminal charges against those who perpetrated this fraud and abuse," Hogan said.

In September 2020, the state's inspector general launched a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of grade-changing practices in the Baltimore City Public Schools system.

In addition to interviews with former and current teachers, administrative staff members, and managers, OIGE investigators extensively reviewed student data, records and grade change forms.

"From the beginning of our investigation, BCPS staff were extremely concerned with speaking to OIGE investigators. Some staff expressed concern for their jobs, while others said nothing would change," a portion of the report reads.

In the end, the OIGE's report concluded that Baltimore City Public Schools changed 12,542 failing grades from 2016 through 2020.

Patterson High School had the highest number of identified failing grades changed to a passing grade during that time frame, accounting for 11.1 percent (1,390) of the total.

Other Baltimore City schools accused of changing grades included: Mergenthaier High School, Digital Harbor High School, Vivien T. Thomas High School, Calverton Elementary, Benjamin Franklin High School, Frederick Douglas High School, ConneXions and Career Academy.

The OIGE warned that "inappropriate" grade changes could significantly impact graduation rates.

"The report reveals a staggering level of disregard for the integrity of the educational system and a clear lack of accountability at the highest levels. For years, the school system has denied and dismissed allegations of grade fixing, and tried to sweep it all under the rug," Hogan said.

"None of this should be allowed to happen in any school system, let alone in one of the most highly funded large school systems in America. All involved in this culture of corruption must be held accountable," he added.

The OIGE launched its investigation following a complaint by the Office of Education Accountability alleging that teachers had been pressured to change grades by either their assistant principals, principals or both.

Following its report, the inspector general's office recommended that the Maryland State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Schools issue an emergency procurement for an independent audit of Baltimore City Public School to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of selected functional areas related to the governance and administration of grading policies and procedures.

Meanwhile, Baltimore City Public Schools issued the following statement after the OIGE's report became public:

The report issued by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General (OIGE) is a perplexing end to a nearly three-year review into grade changes in our school system. City Schools has shared gigabytes worth of data, thousands of pages of documents, and hours of interviews with OIGE to help the office better understand what occurred more than 3 years ago, before many of our current seniors entered high school.

As the OIGE’s report acknowledged, Dr. Sonja Santelises, CEO of City Schools launched an extensive overhaul of our grading policy – Board Policy IKA – to ensure that our grading is fair, equitable, and accurately reflects our students’ achievements. As a result of that overhaul, the Board adopted significant revisions in May 2019.

Over 20 pages of the report, the OIGE notes the challenges of implementing changes to our policy, but it did not find a violation of the law or financial improprieties. The incidents cited largely occurred before the policy change in 2019 and did not illustrate systemwide pressure to change grades.

Most significantly, the report did not make specific recommendations other than further review. Nevertheless, City Schools welcomes the opportunity to contract for an external review of grade changes made during the 2022-23 school year to ensure we maintain our path of continuous improvement. This will be the first school year after the main thrust of the pandemic, offering current data in a near-normal school environment.