Officials order Oyster Bay HS exam do-over

School officials at Oyster Bay High School told students they will have to retake four Advanced Placement exams after the results were invalidated by the College Board because the school violated a seating policy for test takers.

Testing officials requested a copy of the seating chart used during the tests, which were administered last week and found them to be in violation of their standards. Students in the affected classes -- AP World History, United States History, United States Government and Politics, and Physics B -- said they were upset by the news.

AP courses are considered college-level classes. Scores of a 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams can count as college credit, shaving time and tuition off students' higher educations.

A different version of the history and government exams will be taken Wednesday. The physics test will be readministered Friday.

Principal Dennis P. O'Hara would not provide details about what caused the board to ask for the school's seating chart.

Tom Ewing, a spokesman for Educational Testing Service -- the group that designs and administers AP exams -- said the board was tipped off to "testing irregularities" by an anonymous caller.

"I can't get into specifics . . . but I think the issue revolves around how close students were sitting together," he said.

Ewing said it's rare for students to retake the tests; it happens just a few times a year around the country.

He said it's a difficult decision for the College Board to make because of the stress it places on students. At the same time, he said, colleges need to know the results are an accurate reflection of each student's work.

"As unfortunate as it is, it is completely necessary to retest," he said.

O'Hara said in a letter to parents that he was "sorry for the disappointment this situation has caused."

Parent Colleen Puccio said she was angry over the decision. Her daughter, Alessandra, a 10th-grader, will have to retake her AP World History exam.

"I don't think that is the right way to go," Puccio said. "My daughter took two AP exams last week. I've never seen her so stressed in her life. When she found out she had to retake it, she was beside herself."

Alessandra, 15, said she spent hours preparing for the test. "To know it is not going to count is really upsetting for me, since I think I did really well on it."

Patryk Tauter, also 15 and in the 10th grade, said he won't have time to study for the retest on Wednesday because he has an important track meet. He said he was concerned that he won't do as well the second time around.

"The essays were ones that I had a lot of knowledge about," he said.