Defendants invalidated 844 Advanced Placement tests taken by Scripps Ranch students.

The San Diego Unified School District and Scripps Ranch Group, representing Scripps Ranch High School, filed suit July 7 in federal court against Educational Testing Services and the College Entrance Examination Board, both of New York.

The gist of the suit (reported in story earlier this morning) is that the defendants invalidated 844 Advanced Placement tests taken by Scripps students because during the tests last May, the students sat four feet apart instead of five feet apart as specified in the Advanced Placement Coordinator Manual.

The invalidated tests were in biology, calculus, computer science, English language and composition, English literature and composition, psychology, statistics and United States history. This claim of irregularity means that 543 Scripps students had their tests thrown out. The decision to jettison tests was made "without any determination that there had been any cheating or misconduct by any of these students," according to the suit, and "the students were never informed, advised, or instructed that a deviation from the seating policy, no matter how small, would automatically invalidate their test scores,"

Through Advance Placement tests, some students can earn college credits while in high school. Also, high scores can help students avoid introductory courses in college.

Advanced Placement classes "are the most difficult and time-consuming courses offered to high school students," says the suit. Students purchase Advanced Placement examination preparation materials. Now students will have to study their materials again and may be working, vacationing, or otherwise occupied during the summer, giving them a disadvantage in a second testing, according to the suit, which seeks to require the testing companies to accept results of the May tests and pay damages, among other punitive actions.