PACT tests are missing

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BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) - Several boxes of standardized tests taken by Beaufort County students in recent weeks have been reported missing somewhere between Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn., school officials said.

The school district last week sent 57 boxes of tests to Data Recognition Corp. near Minneapolis for grading, but 28 boxes never arrived, said district spokeswoman Jill Weinberger.

The boxes contained students' tests from the English and math sections of the statewide Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test, which is used to gauge yearly progress at schools as required by federal law.

District officials were unsure which local schools' tests were missing.

''We're doing everything we can,'' Weinberger said. ''But it's really FedEx's responsibility to find these pieces they've lost. It's pretty important. It's precious cargo, as we would consider it.''

A FedEx official was in Beaufort on Monday to take pictures of the boxes the district uses to ship tests, Weinberger said.

If they are not found, some schools might not receive a report card next year, Foster said. The report cards are used to evaluate a school's progress toward meeting state and federal education benchmarks.

--- The Beaufort Gazette www.beaufortgazette.com