SAT exam papers blow out back of UPS truck and get lost — now students must retake test in El Paso
They really blew it on this test.
A group of unlucky high schoolers in El Paso, Texas, will likely have to retake their SATs after their exam papers flew out of the back of a UPS truck, according to a report.
The vehicle was heading down a street in the city’s northern section when somehow the back popped open and the completed but still ungraded tests started blowing around everywhere.
Senior Freddy Chavez said he filmed a video of the papers in midair last Friday, but did not realize they contained his classmates’ answers.
“On Mesa [Street], where you turn onto Executive [Center Boulevard], I just saw a bunch of papers everywhere. I had no idea what it was. I didn’t think much of it all until today,” he told KTSM 9 News.
Another student couldn’t believe her eyes when she and her mom saw the aftermath of the test-taking tragedy.
“She was like, ‘Oh they’re actually scantron bubbles ’cause you can see the little bubbles if you really looked,’ so I looked and I could see the bubbles and my mom, as a joke, was like ‘They’re your PSAT scores’ because I had taken that the day before and then today I actually found out they were the SAT scores from our school,” junior Raina Porras told the TV station.
The El Paso Independent School District reported that all but 55 of the lost sheets were recovered — though, unfortunately, those student will have to take the test again.
“El Paso ISD is working closely with the College Board to determine a remedy for the El Paso High School students whose SAT exams were lost in transit after they were securely submitted to UPS,” Liza Rodriguez, a school district representative, said in a statement.
“Occasionally test materials are lost in transit. When such instances occur, we work with the school to ensure that students are able to retest as soon as possible.”
Some of the impacted students expressed their frustration to KTSM 9 News this week.
“Today, they called a meeting for the senior class and they kind of told us, ‘Hey, guys, the rumors are true. The SAT scores were compromised. They flew out of the UPS bus,’” Santiago Gonzalez told the outlet.
Student body president Zyenna Martinez was concerned about the personal data included on the test sheets.
“On the test score sheets, we have all of our information and identification on the score — our location where we live, our address, our date of birth, all of our information. And it stinks because our identity is out there right now. Some people could have picked up some flyers,” she lamented.
UPS blamed the mishap on the driver — and apologized and said it is still looking for the missing tests.
“We have apologized to the school and extend our apologies to the students. Our employees are working to recover as many tests as possible, and we will work with the school to resolve the situation,” their statement read. “The driver’s actions in this case are not representative of UPS protocols and methods, and we are addressing this with him. Safely meeting our service commitments is UPS’s first priority.”