FedEx Loses 220 ACT Tests In Atlanta, Students Forced To Retake Exams

In a nightmarish scenario, 220 students of Cobb County school district, Atlanta, who took their ACT test at Lassiter High School, were forced to retake the exam after the courier delivery service, FedEx, lost their tests.

Allatoona High School senior Carsyn Gambrell said, “On Valentine's Day night around 10:30 (I got an email) that just said, 'Sorry lost your test. We'll give you your 50 dollars back.”

The American College Testing (ACT) is a standardized test meant to assess high school student’s aptitude before they embark on their undergraduate studies. There are four parts to the test: English, math, reading, and science, which takes about three and a half hours to complete without factoring in the breaks in between.

The scores of ACT is used by universities across the United States. The grades scored in the exam will determine which university a student will attend for his or her undergraduate studies.

A spokesperson with ACT said 220 tests taken at Lassiter School in Marietta Atlanta was missing in the FedEx system, Channel 2 News, an ABC-affiliated news channel, reported.

Gambrell, who couldn’t fathom that her test was lost, said, "I was really emotional about it for a long time. I was crying, I was just mad because how do you misplace a test?"

FedEx in a statement told Channel 2’s Chris Jose that it was conducting a search to find the missing tests.

"We are working with the test center supervisor and the carrier (FedEx) to attempt to locate the package," ACT Inc. Spokesman Ed Colby said in an email. "It is very rare that a package doesn't make it to ACT eventually."

Colby said students will be able to take any future tests for free and will get a refund for the test that was lost by the courier service.

FedEx is gaining notoriety for frequently losing tests of students. In 2017, FedEx lost 125 ACT tests in Los Angeles. According to reports, in 2015, 88 ACT tests were lost in Maryland and 50 tests went missing in Florida. Similarly, 53 tests in Long Island were lost in 2016.

Gambrell who wasn’t quite sure if she will ever see her test again said she plans on applying to Kennesaw State University (KSU) if ACT sends the score back. KSU's deadline is set at March 1.

Gambrell who retook the test Saturday told Jose that she missed few deadlines for Scholarship applications. However, after KSU heard of the missing tests, it extended the college application deadline to April 1.

"Hopefully they don't lose this test," she said.