MCAS testing plans were ruined at a Uxbridge school on Tuesday, because a smoking laptop burned a student and led to an evacuation during the exam.
The MCAS English Language Arts exam was happening at Whitin Intermediate School when one student's school-provided laptop started smoking and malfunctioned around 9:30 a.m., as reported by Uxbridge Public Schools on Tuesday.
The staff acted quickly by stopping the test, activating the fire alarm, and evacuating the building without any issues, as stated by the district. The Uxbridge Fire Department arrived shortly after to clear and ventilate the building, allowing students to return to their classrooms by 10:45 a.m.
The student with the smoking laptop suffered burns to their hands, according to the district, and their guardian took them to a local hospital for treatment.
MCAS testing will be stopped at Whitin Intermediate School, which has grades 4 through 7, until further notice, the district officials announced. The scheduled ELA MCAS testing for grade 3 continued as planned at the Taft Early Learning Center and was the only other MCAS testing taking place on Tuesday.
The school administrators and Department of Technology and Digital Learning are working internally and with state education officials to come up with a plan to continue the MCAS ELA testing, the district reported. Officials will also collaborate with the laptop supplier to investigate the cause of the computer's malfunction and assess the devices' safety for future testing.
“The safety of our students is crucial, and we will take the necessary steps to prevent something like this from happening in the future,” stated Superintendent Baldassarre. “We would like to acknowledge the prompt response of the library staff members who assisted in evacuating students quickly and safely, as well as the Uxbridge Fire Department for their response to the scene.”
District officials mentioned that they will keep Whitin Intermediate School families updated on the ELA MCAS testing as soon as new information is available.
