Texas High School Students' SAT Exams Lost After Test Papers Flew out of UPS Truck

By BERT HOOVER First Posted: Nov 08, 2022 01:05 AM EST

More than 50 Texas high school students lost their SAT scores after their test papers flew out of a UPS truck.

In a statement sent to USA Today on Monday, El Paso Independent School District noted that the incident impacted El Paso High School students who took their SATs there on October 27. The the staff recovered all except for the 55 tests.

"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," El Paso ISD officials said.

According to the school district, the ACT, a different standardized exam that is also used in college admissions, could be taken on December 10 free of charge to children whose tests were missing. The officials said the College Board and the school district would release additional updates.

UPS Apologizes to the Texas School for the Incident

According to reports, the school and students in Texas had received an apology from UPS, and it said it was still trying to retrieve the tests. However, UPS did not identify the employee who was driving the truck, the El Paso Times reported.

"Our employees are working to recover as many tests as possible, and we will work with the school to resolve the situation," UPS noted.

"The driver's actions, in this case, are not representative of UPS protocols and methods, and we are addressing this with him," it added.

According to Norma De La Rosa, president of the El Paso Teachers Association, the situation is quite upsetting. De La Rosa said the students study hard and take the test early to apply early.

"Why the tests were sent in the manner that they were is very disturbing. I would hope that the district would have a more secure method of getting those tests secured and delivered to their destination," she noted.

All the Test Became Invalid Due to Possible Tampering

Senior Ezra Ponzio, an El Paso High School student who said his answers were lost, told KFOX 14 that he had already taken the SAT last year but was not pleased with his score, so he was hoping to redeem himself this year.

According to Ponzio, "it turns out that around 250 of them were completely destroyed and unusable, but all the tests became invalid because they could have been tampered with."

"That is still time and effort that went into studying and trying to do good on this test," he added. Ponzio said he felt pretty good while taking the test and was hoping to land 1260-1300.

However, Ponzio will never know his score since the test sheets flew out of a UPS truck on Mesa and Executive. Ponzio noted that their option is to either apply for the ACT, a test they do not know anything about, or to spend another SAT and take it in December.

He said that day was the last day to get the test for a lower price, and the incident kept him from applying to schools early, which he wished to do.

When KFOX14 asked if UPS would compensate the Texas high school students who paid to retake the SAT, UPS said it was working with the high school to settle the matter.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: El Paso High SAT Score Sheets Fly out of UPS Truck in West El Paso, Compromising Test - From KTSM 9 NEWS