TUSD Audit Reveals 'Brutal' Findings

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - 11:25am

A $200,000 audit commissioned by Tucson’s largest school district has come up with what the school superintendent is calling some brutal findings.

The study, done by an outside consultant, found the Tucson Unified School District curriculum did not line up with the state school assessments that are in place, that students are not being taught to master concepts and a majority are learning only to understand and cover the material they’re presented.

The auditor says TUSD practices have perpetuated a two-tier system of have and have-not student groups and that while poverty shouldn’t predict retention in a school, in the Tucson district, it not only predicts retention, but graduation as well.

District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, tells the Arizona Daily Star the findings will be used to come up with a plan of action which can be incorporated into the district’s five-year plan. 

The deficiencies have led to low student achievement, a district-wide C-rating from the state for the last three years, and the loss of thousands of students over the years.