Oops: BPS screwed up key calculation used to help determine whether some students get into exam schools, but says it's fixed the issue

In e-mail tonight, BPS told parents of prospective exam-school students that neither BPS nor an outside auditor initially caught the error at first in the way seventh-grade eligibility is calculated, but that they still expect to send out actual invitations in early May - still on schedule for BPS, but later than other area schools with selection policies.

The error meant some students who would not make the cut were told they were possibly eligible for exam schools while other students whose grades were, in fact, good enough, were not sent "eligibility" notices. GPAs count for 70% of the determination on who gets invited to Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the O'Bryant School, with a standardized test accounting for the rest.

GPAs for potential students for 9th grade admissions (and 10th, at the O'Bryant) were OK, but BPS said it was double-checking those numbers, just in case:

BPS Rising 9th and 10th Grade Families,

We are writing to inform you that BPS has discovered an error in how we calculated grade point averages (GPAs) to determine 7th-grade exam school eligibility. Although we work with an external auditor to ensure the accuracy of our data, neither the external auditor nor BPS' Office of Data and Accountability (ODA) caught the error before notices were sent out.

Since catching the error, the ODA and independent external auditor have revalidated the GPAs. We are confident in the accuracy of the new GPA calculations for rising 9th and 10th graders, but out of an abundance of caution, we are double-checking all grading data to ensure accuracy.

We will continue to keep you updated on our progress and expect to have eligibility notices go out by the end of this week. Exam school invitations are still scheduled for early May.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call the family helpline at 617-635-8873.

We understand how important it is to get accurate information quickly, and we are doing our best to ensure that happens. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Office of Welcome Services & Office of Data and Accountability