Ohio Department of Education Performance Audit

Ohio Department

of Education

Performance Audit

January 26, 2021

88 E. Broad St.

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 466-4514

Toll Free: (800) 282-0370



Letter from the Auditor

To the Governor¡¯s Office, General Assembly, 6XSHULQWHQGHQWRI3XEOLF,QVWUXFWLRQ6WDWH

%RDUGRI(GXFDLWRQ6Waff of the Ohio Department of (GXFDWLRQ, Ohio Taxpayers, and

Interested Citizens:

The Auditor of State¡¯s Office recently completed a performance audit for the Ohio

Department of (GXFDWLRQ (OD( or the Department). This service to OD(and to the taxpayers

of the state of Ohio is being provided pursuant to Ohio Revised Code ¡ì117.46 and HB  of

the 133rd General Assembly, which required the AOS to FRQGXFWDSHUIRUPDQFHDXGLWRIWKH

'HSDUWPHQW. The review was conducted by the Ohio Performance Team and provides an

independent assessment of selected areas of operations in relation to industry standards and

recommended or leading practices.

This performance audit report contains recommendations, supported by detailed analysis, to

enhance the Department¡¯s economy, efficiency, and/or effectivenessLQWKHDUHDVUHYLHZHG.

The report has been provided to the Department and its contents have been discussed with the

appropriate staff and leadership within the Department. The Department is reminded of its

responsibilities for public comment, implementation, and reporting related to this performance

audit per the requirements outlined under ORC ¡ì117.461 and ¡ì117.462. In future compliance

audits, the Auditor of State will monitor implementation of the recommendations contained in

this report, pursuant to the statutory requirements.

It is the Auditor¡¯s hope that the Department will use the results of the performance audit as a

resource for improving operational efficiency as well as service delivery effectiveness. The

analysis contained within are intended to provide management with information and in some

cases, a range of options to consider while making decisions about their operations. Additional

resources related to performance audits are available on the Ohio Auditor of State¡¯s website.

This performance audit report can be accessed by visiting the Auditor of State¡¯s website at

and choosing the ¡°Search¡± option. A detailed website outlining report details

can be found here: .

Sincerely,

-DQXDU\

Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Ohio Department of Education ....................................................................................................... 2

Department Structure .................................................................................................................. 2

Department Finances ................................................................................................................... 2

Department Operations ............................................................................................................... 4

Audit Overview ............................................................................................................................... 4

Summary of Recommendations .................................................................................................. 5

Noteworthy Accomplishments .................................................................................................... 6

Issue for Further Study ................................................................................................................ 8

Student Success ............................................................................................................................... 9

Background ................................................................................................................................. 9

Why We Looked At This .......................................................................................................... 11

What We Looked At ................................................................................................................. 11

What We Found ........................................................................................................................ 14

Recommendation 1.1 Monitor District Performance and Apply Lessons Learned .................. 16

Recommendation 1.2 Improvement Initiatives ......................................................................... 25

Ohio Student Assessments ............................................................................................................ 30

Background ............................................................................................................................... 30

Why We Looked At This .......................................................................................................... 31

What We looked At ................................................................................................................... 32

What We Found ........................................................................................................................ 32

Recommendation 2.1: Stakeholder Communication................................................................. 35

Recommendation 2.2: Practice Assessment Data ..................................................................... 39

Issue for Further Study .............................................................................................................. 41

Education Management Information System and Data Management .......................................... 44

Background ............................................................................................................................... 44

Why We Looked At This .......................................................................................................... 45

What We Looked At ................................................................................................................. 46

What We Found ........................................................................................................................ 46

Recommendation 3.1: EMIS ..................................................................................................... 48

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State Foundation Payment Process ............................................................................................... 54

Background ............................................................................................................................... 54

Why We Looked At This .......................................................................................................... 55

What We Looked At ................................................................................................................. 56

What We Found ........................................................................................................................ 56

Recommendation 4.1: Foundation Payment Process ................................................................ 59

Information Technology ............................................................................................................... 63

Background ............................................................................................................................... 63

Why We Looked At This .......................................................................................................... 63

What We Looked At ................................................................................................................. 64

What We Found ........................................................................................................................ 64

Recommendation 5.1: IT Governance ...................................................................................... 65

Recommendation 5.2: Cloud Migration .................................................................................... 67

Client Response Letter .................................................................................................................. 69

Appendix A: Purpose, Methodology, Scope, and Objectives of the Audit .................................. 72

Performance Audit Purpose and Overview ............................................................................... 72

Audit Methodology ................................................................................................................... 72

Audit Scope and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 73

Appendix B: Student Success ....................................................................................................... 75

Appendix C: Ohio Student Assessments ..................................................................................... 85

Appendix D: EMIS and Data Management .................................................................................. 89

Appendix E: Foundation Funding................................................................................................. 90

Foundation Formula Funding .................................................................................................... 90

ODE Payment Process .............................................................................................................. 92

Foundation Funding Appeals .................................................................................................... 93

Funding Variation ..................................................................................................................... 94

Appendix F: Information Technology .......................................................................................... 97

ITO Staffing .............................................................................................................................. 97

Cloud Computing ...................................................................................................................... 98

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