SANDY SPRINGS, Md. - A Montgomery County high school is investigating how a student received "A" grades in two classes even though she never attended the school.
Lauren Lee, 14, who attends a private Catholic school, was sent a progress report saying she was earning an "A" in an honors geometry course and in physical education at Sherwood High School, a public school.
Lauren had attended Rosa M. Parks Middle School and her records where sent to Sherwood. That's apparently where the mix up started, said county schools spokesman Brian Porter.
A computerized list of students and grades is used to generate the progress reports. Teachers manually enter the grades from their own books of scores into the computer.
Although the teachers who assigned a grade to Lauren knew she wasn't in their classes, her name kept showing up on a computer list that recorded the grade, which was sent to Lauren's home, Porter said.
"It's certainly rare," Porter said. "It's not something that I've heard of happening. It's just a confluence of mistakes. Everybody at the school is pretty embarrassed by it."
Exactly how a grade ended up by her name on the computerized list is still under investigation, Porter said.
Lauren's name also showed up for a physics class and an art class. She received an incomplete grade in physics and an "NC" in art, which means the course is a noncredit class.
"The school has undertaken a detailed inquiry because it does reflect on the reliability of its grading and reporting system," Porter said.
School officials plan to be more careful in making sure computer lists of enrolled students are up to date, Porter said.
This just renews my faith in the Maryland education system.
Lauren Lee, 14, who attends a private Catholic school, was sent a progress report saying she was earning an "A" in an honors geometry course and in physical education at Sherwood High School, a public school.
Lauren had attended Rosa M. Parks Middle School and her records where sent to Sherwood. That's apparently where the mix up started, said county schools spokesman Brian Porter.
A computerized list of students and grades is used to generate the progress reports. Teachers manually enter the grades from their own books of scores into the computer.
Although the teachers who assigned a grade to Lauren knew she wasn't in their classes, her name kept showing up on a computer list that recorded the grade, which was sent to Lauren's home, Porter said.
"It's certainly rare," Porter said. "It's not something that I've heard of happening. It's just a confluence of mistakes. Everybody at the school is pretty embarrassed by it."
Exactly how a grade ended up by her name on the computerized list is still under investigation, Porter said.
Lauren's name also showed up for a physics class and an art class. She received an incomplete grade in physics and an "NC" in art, which means the course is a noncredit class.
"The school has undertaken a detailed inquiry because it does reflect on the reliability of its grading and reporting system," Porter said.
School officials plan to be more careful in making sure computer lists of enrolled students are up to date, Porter said.
This just renews my faith in the Maryland education system.
