HOUSTON Two-hundred seniors from Clear Lake High School are accused of cheating on an English final.
Senior Evan Jones said he saw some of the cheating.
There were quite a few kids that did it in my class back in the corner, said Jones.
Tom Harrigan said he doesn t know how someone got their hands on the answers, but they were forwarded to him by text.
Someone sent it to me and I don t know, I didn t trust the person at all so I didn t use it, said Harrigan.
Clear Creek ISD officials pieced the cheating together when they noticed Clear Lake students scored much higher than all other seniors in the district.
There s a sense of disappointment because we have faith that our students could have achieved a high level on those grades authentically, said district spokesperson Elaina Polsen.
The district caught the cheating after the first day of finals in December and immediately altered the order of the test.
On the second day, they changed the test and kids were still putting the same answers that were correct for the first day, said Harrigan.
Senior Nicole Cusson said the English IV exam wasn t easy, but she took the high road.
I feel proud of myself that even though I did bad, I did it honestly, said Cusson.
Now, all 600 seniors at Clear Lake High have a choice to make.
They can retake the final or opt to not take the exam and get a grade based on their two, nine-week grades for the semester.
District officials were still working Thursday to determine how the cheating started. If they find the person responsible, he or she will get a zero on his or her exam and face possible a suspension.
