School accountability reports flawed

David Olinger and Jeffrey A. Roberts of The Denver Post examined reports of violent incidents in Colorado schools, finding that "disclosures of school violence vary wildly from one district to another. Some schools report every punch thrown on the playground. Others did not include assaults that police classified as felonies." The state requires districts to report certain incidents, but the guidelines lead some officials to report only those that cause severe injuries. "How accountable are the accountability reports? To accept their reliability, you must believe that in the last school year: Thirteen Colorado grade schools had more assaults and fights than any high school in Denver. A rural high school in Rifle witnessed more assaults than 25 high schools in Denver and Aurora. The most violent school in Colorado is a middle school in the suburban community of Fountain." A graphic shows some of the incidents that didn't make the state's report.