The objective of our audit was to determine whether the Utah State Board of Education (Utah Education) implemented a system of internal control over calculating and reporting graduation rates sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that reported graduation rates were accurate and complete. We reviewed Utah Education’s system of internal control related to the calculating and reporting of the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR). The audit period covered the ACGR for school year (SY) 2014–15, which included students who were first-time ninth graders in SY 2011–12. We found that Utah Education’s system of internal control did not provide reasonable assurance that reported graduation rates were accurate and complete during our audit period. Specifically, Utah Education did not have sufficient processes to ensure that (1) ACGR data received from the local educational agencies (LEAs) were accurate and complete, (2) students who the LEAs identified as graduates in the cohort met State graduation requirements, and (3) LEAs maintained adequate documentation for students removed from the cohort. Further, we found that Utah Education did not calculate its ACGR in accordance with Federal requirements. Utah Education’s methodology for calculating its ACGR (1) improperly included students as graduates who earned an alternative award and (2) did not include all students who should have been reported in the SY 2014−15 cohort.
UT
United States
