An entire eighth grade class at a Brooklyn intermediate school was flunked when school officials misplaced their English exams and informed students that they now must attend summer school, the
New York Post reports.
Letters were handed out on school stationary to the eighth grade class at IS 227 in Bensonhurst saying the students would not be able to attend their graduation on Friday and would now have to attend summer school, as well as pass an English test in August required by the city in order to be promoted to the next grade.
The letters do not mention the lost tests, but half a dozen students at the intermediate school told The Post that they were informed by their guidance counselor that the reason they weren't graduating was because the test results were lost by the city.
However, city officials say the entire matter is a mix-up and students should be able to graduate with their classmates despite the letter.
The Department of Education (DOE) told The Post that 25 students were given notices of failure by mistake. Officials claim that the tests were put into the wrong box and had not been scored yet, but they were not lost.
"We are communicating with these families that this letter should not have been sent due to the delay in scoring for this class' exams," said DOE spokeswoman Erin Hughes.
"The exams will be scored by Wednesday, and families should receive appropriate promotion communication before the moving-up ceremony on Friday," Hughes added.
The letters said the reason for not promoting the students is because of their poor test results.
"Your child's performance on assessments . . . indicates that your child has not met the New York City Promotion Standard for the English Language arts," the letter signed by Principle Brenda Champion states.
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