Defective Scantrons may skew grades

By Carrie Porsche-Jones, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

Students who used any of approximately 16,000 defective Scantrons sold by the University Bookstore during the fall semester may be eligible for credit for answers that were marked wrong erroneously.

The Bookstore was notified by manufacturers of the Scantron 882, who released a memo that informed faculty and staff last week. Three Scantron forms in the 882 series are defective and may mark correct answers wrong, the memo said. The defective forms were identified as 882ES, 882NES and 882ES bags. Students who used Scantrons this semester or have a stock of them should check for the code on the front bottom of the form to the right of the words "Feed this Direction Arrow." If the codes match any of the following sequences, they are probably defective.

The sequence numbers are 890-T-999-12 11 10 9 8 7, 890-T-999-12 11 10 9 8 and 890-T-999-12 11 10 9.

"The problem is not with administration or the Bookstore, it came from the manufacturers of the Scantron," said Dr. Karl Anatol, vice president of academic affairs.

The Bookstore was unaware of the problems until the manufacturer sent them a notice. All campus departments have been notified, but how professors handle the students' grades on defective forms used for exams is up to the individual, Anatol said.

Dr. Julie Hanlon Rubio, a religious studies instructor, said she will give credit for the questions on her midterm exam that were on one of the defective lines.

The line numbers affected are 10, 20, 30 and 40 on one side, and 60, 70, 80 and 90 on the other side.

Fred Neely, director of the Bookstore, said he is confident that students will have the proper forms for future exams. The Bookstore will be make things as easy as possible for students to exchange the defective scantrons, Anatol said.