ALBANY — New York City isn’t the only place where school officials play fast and loose with grades, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Officials in four upstate school districts and one district on Long Island changed grades — almost always upward — without documentation, DiNapoli said in an audit released Monday.
A sixth district, the village of Williamsville near Buffalo, didn’t even bother to track the history of grade changes, the comptroller said.
“These lax policies could easily be manipulated, and graduation rates, college placement and teacher performance could be compromised by these system weaknesses,” DiNapoli said.
His auditors reviewed changes from July 2013 to May 2015 made by nonteachers, such as guidance counselors, and found 196 out of 450 were not supported by documentation from teachers.
Of the revisions, 97 (50 percent) were changed from failing to passing, 36 (18 percent) increased a grade, and only 10 (5 percent) decreased a grade. Another 53 (27 percent) changed the record from no grade to 65 or better.
The school districts audited (none of which is pictured) included Freeport, LI, as well as Saratoga Springs, Arlington, Fairport and Elmira, all upstate.


