The West Virginia Department of Education’s Implementation of Selected Components of West Virginia’s Statewide Accountability System - Report Letter and Audit Summary

Oct 15, 2026

Final audit report from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General examining whether the West Virginia Department of Education implemented selected components of its statewide accountability system in fall 2022 using 2021–2022 school-year data. The report finds general compliance with the state plan for two findings, but identifies incorrect identification of 12 ineligible schools, and insufficient recordkeeping for required planning, collaboration, diagnostic and monitoring, and technical assistance. It outlines impacts for eligible versus ineligible schools and recommends verification and improved documentation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Results in Brief

Why Did the OIG Perform This Audit?

What Did the OIG Find?

What Is the Impact?

What Are the Next Steps?

| | U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General | | --- | --- | | The West Virginia Department of Education’s Implementation of Selected Components of West Virginia’s Statewide Accountability System
September 29, 2025 ED-OIG/A24IL0200 | | Statements that managerial practices need improvements, as well as other conclusionsand recommendations in this report, represent the opinions of the Office of Inspector General. The appropriate Department of Education officials will determine what corrective actions should be taken. In accordance with Freedom of Information Act (Title 5, United States Code, Section 552), reports that the Office of Inspector General issues are available to members of the press and general public to the extent information they contain is not subject to exemptions in the Act. September 29, 2025 Michele L. Blatt State Superintendent West Virginia Department of Education 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East Charleston, WV 25305 Dear Superintendent Blatt: Enclosed is our final audit report,“The West Virginia Department of Education’s Implementation of Selected Components of West Virginia’s Statewide Accountability System,” Control Number EDOIG/A24IL0200 . This report incorporates the comments you provided in response to the draft report. The U.S. Department of Education’s policy is to expedite audit resolution by timely acting on findingsand recommendations. Therefore, if you have any additional comments or information that you believe may have a bearing on the resolution of this audit, you should send them directly to the following Department of Education official, who will consider them before taking final Departmental action on this audit: Hayley Sanon Acting Assistant Secretary Office of Elementary and Secondary Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20202 We appreciate your cooperation during this audit. If you have any questions, please contact me at (916) 213-7630 or [Ben.Sanders@ed.gov](Ben.Sanders@ed.gov). Sincerely, /s/ Ben C. Sanders Director, Elementary and Secondary Education Oversight Team Enclosure U. S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General Results in Brief The West Virginia Department of Education’s Implementation of Selected Components of West Virginia’s Statewide Accountability System Why Did the OIG Perform This Audit? The U.S. Department of Education (Department) allocates funds to States through statutory formulas based primarily on census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each State. To receive funding, a State plan that includes a description of its accountability system must be submitted to the Department for review and approval. For the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 Federal funding periods, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) was awarded about $107 million and $105 million in Title I, Part A funds, respectively. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires States to reserve a portion of their Title I funds to provide technical assistance and support for local educational agencies (LEA) with schools whose students are most in need of the additional support to improve their academic performance. Therefore, it is essential that the funds reach those students. The objective of our audit was to determine whether WVDE implemented selected components of its statewide accountability system in the fall of 2022 based on data for school year 2021–2022. What Did the OIG Find? | We found that WVDE generally implemented selected components of the statewide accountability system in accordance with West Virginia’s State plan and amendments and WVDE’s policies and procedures ( Finding 1) and correctly allocated additional funding to LEAs with schools identified in the fall of 2022 as needing additional support ( Finding 2) . However, WVDE incorrectly identified for additional support and improvement 12 schools that were not eligible

FAQs

What was the main objective of the OIG audit?

To determine whether WVDE implemented selected components of its statewide accountability system in fall 2022 based on data for school year 2021–2022.

What key findings did the OIG report?

WVDE generally implemented selected components in accordance with its state plan and correctly allocated additional Title I funding in the reviewed period. However, it incorrectly identified 12 schools as needing additional support services and did not always keep records of promised support such as planning, collaboration, diagnostic monitoring, and technical assistance.

What are the recommended next steps?

The Assistant Secretary should verify that WVDE applies procedures in the approved state plan when identifying schools for additional support in fall 2025, and require WVDE to keep records demonstrating delivery of the additional support services it promised to LEAs and schools.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by วิน