Accuracy of education data is questioned

It was a reality check for state education leaders as well as lawmakers Wednesday during the Legislature's Education Interim Committee meeting.

In reaction to an audit of elementary school class sizes, legislative auditors are recommending the State Office of Education revamp how it collects its enrollment data.

Education leaders told legislators that while a nice suggestion, logistically it may not be realistic in some cases. "Let's talk about the realities of how a school is configured," said Judy Park, state education associate superintendent.

The audit discovered the state education office's numbers varied from auditor's numbers.

There are "data integrity issues," said legislative auditor Maria Stahla.

Legislative auditors believe the State Office of Education's methodology for calculating classes "overstates the number of classes and consequently lowers the reported average class size for some schools in some districts," Stahla said.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said, "This means the education data which we are relying on as legislators to make decisions is not comparable and consistent."

However, counting students in a school isn't a cut and dry process, education officials say. A big part of the discrepancy is that state education officials and legislative auditors use different definitions of a class.

House Bill 215 in 2007 mandated an average class size be calculated and reported by grade for each school and district. Statute requires the state education office gather the data by dividing the number of students in a grade by the number of classes in that grade.

Committee member Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said she is "quite concerned" the State Education Office is out of compliance with state statute but understands it is trying. She said she plans to work with the State Education Office and bring forward legislation this session on the issue. "Let's try and address these problems," Morgan said.

The State Education Office is looking at implementing new methodology for enrollment counts, education officials say.

"The audit is very helpful in making our data more accurate. We want to improve our data systems. We're incorporating the recommendations," state superintendent Patti Harrington told the Deseret News after the meeting.

Since fiscal year 1993, the Legislature has appropriated $875 million in class-size reduction funds as a supplement to other education funding.

"We're on the same team," Bramble said. "We just want accurate information."

E-mail: astewart@desnews.com