More Than 50 High School Students Might Have To Retake The SAT After Their Tests Flew Out Of A UPS Truck

Video on social media showed the tests fluttering through the air and scattered on the ground.

The outside of El Paso High School

More than 50 students at El Paso High School in Texas might have to retake the SAT after their answer sheets flew out of a UPS truck that was transporting them.

The incident affected students who took the SAT on Oct. 27, Liza Rodriguez, chief communications officer of the El Paso Independent School District, told BuzzFeed News. Video on social media showed the tests flying through the air and scattered on the ground after falling out of the truck. Many were recovered, but 55 tests were lost, according to the district.

The school district is now working closely with the College Board, which administers the SAT, "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," Rodriguez said in a statement.

In addition, "counselors are providing students interested in taking the ACT with waivers to retake the exam at no cost," she said.

Ezra Ponzio, a senior at El Paso High School whose SAT exam has been lost, said that he had retaken the test this year after not being pleased with his score last year.

“I’d say that I felt pretty good going into it," he told KFOX14. “I was hoping to land around a 1260 to 1300 this time.”

Ponzio added that he was hoping to apply to colleges early this year, but because his test papers were lost in the chaos, he can no longer do so.

"UPS, just try your best to make it right with us," Ponzio told KFOX14.

A test answer sheet

Some students have also voiced their concerns about having the personal information that is on those SAT answer sheets now out there in the world. Zyenna Martinez, who is the high school's student body president, told KTSM that she was worried about students' privacy.

“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," Martinez said. "It stinks because our identity is out there right now. Some people could have picked up some flyers."

In response to the incident, UPS said that it had apologized to the school and the students.

“Our employees are working to recover as many tests as possible, and we will work with the school to resolve the situation,” said the company in a statement sent to CNN. “The driver’s actions, in this case, are not representative of UPS protocols and methods, and we are addressing this with him.”

The College Board said that it will continue to "provide options for the impacted students."

"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," the organization said in a statement sent to KTSM.

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