MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—At least 300 high school students in Orange County must retake their advanced placement exams after national test administrators found some of them cheated.
Dan Sullivan, principal at Trabuco Hills High School, sent a letter to parents dated July 1, saying the College Board and Educational Testing Service canceled students' test scores after finding "a number of students" cheated on a statistics exam. The letter was reported Monday by the Orange County Register.

Steve Fish, Saddleback Valley school district's superintendent, said 10 students cheated on the exams, which was administered in May at the high school. The testing service also found local test administrators failed to follow test-taking guidelines, such as properly spacing students during the exam.

"We're devastated," Fish said. "And we're equally devastated ETS chose to cancel all of the scores. Certainly it has taught us a horrible lesson in terms of how we'll carry this out in the future and how we'll help get these kids into college."

The testing service began an investigation after school officials suspected some students cheated on the exam. The probe revealed some students cheated on their statistics and economics tests by swapping formulas over cell phone text messages, Fish said.

Students may retake the exams at the district's cost or seek a refund. Nearly all the test scores from the school were canceled.

The exams, which cost $40 per test, can be used to obtain college credits.

Source: mercurynews.com