Read Online Digital Disaster! by Rachel Wise - Free Book Online Page A

Some students booed in the back. He paused for a second and
continued a little louder. “Many parents and students are upset and confused about
why the current test results can’t be used. We’re here to explain this to
you. This is an open forum where voices are meant to be heard, but remember one
thing.” Mr. Pfeiffer took off his glasses. He cleaned them on the corner of his
jacket and then started speaking again. “Look. We all want the same
thing—the best educational environment for our children. Let’s not attack
one another, folks.” With that, he stepped away from the podium and sat down in
one of the seats reserved for administrators.
    Then the head of the math department—my math teacher, Mrs.
Birnbaum—took the mike. She explained exactly what had happened: The day before
the test, no one could get into the math department files and all the test information,
the exams, and the answers were deleted. They did have backup files, but after several
IT professionals looked at the system, it was determined that it had been hacked into by
an unknown user, the password changed, and the files printed before they were deleted.
The person who did this was still unknown, but the investigation had some promising
leads.
    â€œAt this time we have no way of knowing whose test results are the
product of obtaining the answers ahead of time. The answers were printed out and may
have been distributed. We know the retest is inconvenient, but in order to ensure that
everyone has the same opportunities, we think this is the best option,” she said
in a firm tone. Then she opened the meeting up for questions.
    Michael’s father stood up. I looked at Michael, but he had his eyes
glued to his dad.
    â€œMy son is an excellent student,” he said. I glanced at
Michael and saw the color rise to his cheeks. I didn’t want to embarrass him
further, so I kept my eyes straight ahead. Mr. Lawrence went on. “He’s also
very committed to several sports and his work on the school paper. I understand that
though the results aren’t valid, there are other options. We can omit all test
grades from the record. I just don’t see why my son, who I’m certain has not
played a part in this and studied very hard for that test, has to add more to his busy
schedule because of someone else’s mistakes. Has this option been seriously
considered?”
    I turned around and scanned the audience. I saw many people nodding in
agreement. A few parents and students started cheering. Then all the way in the back, I
saw Will Hutchins standing against the wall, his gray hoodie pulled over his head. His
face looked serious, with barely any expression at all.
    Suddenly lots of parents and students stood up, one after the other taking
each side. Then everyone began talking over one another and Mr. Pfeiffer had to step
in.
    â€œWe’ve heard everyone’s opinions,” Mr. Pfeiffer
said, “and Mrs. Birnbaum explained why we have made the decision we made. The
reason we can’t throw out the grades is that unfortunately many more students will
be negatively affected when their grades for the year are averaged. The final tests are
weighted to equal more of your child’s grade. In order to be as fair as possible,
as Mrs. Birnbaum said, we need to retest to ensure that no one had prior access to any
answers. We hope the students who studied hard for the exam the first time are well
prepared already and need only a refresher study session for this test. While we
appreciate all your opinions, this is what we’ve decided, and we need to now move
on. Thanks for your time.”
    I would have spoken, but so many people had already said many times over
what I felt. There was nothing left for me to say. I nudged Michael again. I wanted him
to take a look at Will standing so ominously in the back, but when I turned around
again, he was gone.
    â€œWhat?” Michael