Howard?s public school attorney Mark Blom is reviewing the system?s contract to use software that has received mounting criticism because of its slowness and inaccuracy.
The Chancery Student Management System software has been used since July 2005 and tracks high school data such as grades and attendance. School officials now are using local software Grade Transporter to record student grades because of problems with the Chancery software.
“We have been able to generate transcripts without any complaints,” said Linda Wise, assistant superintendent of school administration, professional development and organizational development.
PTA Council President Mary Jane Barbato-Grauso recently reiterated the council?s concern about the software, saying parents should double check their children?s report cards, GPA calculation sheets and other student data.
The completion date for Blom?s review, which will determine the action the system might take, has not been determined, said Robert Glascock, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
Blom is evaluating the contract with Chancery, which produced the controversial software.
Pearson Education, an Upper Saddle River, N.J.-based educational publishing company, has purchased Chancery. More than $800,000 has been spent on installing, maintaining and upgrading the Chancery software.
Recently, about 1,400 Reservoir High School students had to wait until the first day of school to receive their class schedules. Usually, schedules are mailed by the second week in August.
In addition, the software has led to report card delays, but school administrators said no inaccuracies were reported on thousands of transcripts issued to colleges last fall.
