One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
3 Palos Verdes Honors Students Arrested for Breaking Into Classrooms in Elaborate Grade-Changing, Test-Stealing Plot
Test via Shutterstock
Three juniors at Palos Verdes High School were arrested yesterday for their role in an elaborate grade-changing, test-stealing plot.
The honors students were looking for nothing more than an "A-" in the grade books of their four teachers (and a little cash from selling test), but now they have a criminal record and will likely be expelled from school, according to the Daily Breeze.
"These kids would have been going to a very good college without any academic dishonesty. That's the sad part about it," Principal Nick Stephany told the Daily Breeze.
The three students managed to pick the lock of the janitors' closet after-hours so they could get the master key to the teachers' classrooms. Once they broke into the classrooms, they were able to attach keyloggers to their teachers' computers that would allow the students to figure out the teachers' passwords.
Armed with the teachers' passwords, the students would return to the classrooms another night to hack into their teachers' computers to change their grades and steal tests that they would use for themselves or sometimes sell to other students. They wouldn't tweak their grades too much—just enough to bump their grades up to an "A-". Two other students had their grades changed, too. They did this as many as 20 times without getting caught. One student came forward to the administration to tell them what was going on, and that's when teachers noticed the problems with grade-keeping and the scandal unraveled.
"They were very bright kids," Principal Nick Stephany said. "They were in AP and honors classes. Am I shocked? Yeah. Definitely by the extent of it. None of these kids had any real trouble before."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
