Teacher opens up about mistake that forced 25 students to retake ACT

A teacher on TikTok posted that he made a mistake during a standardized test and made 25 students retake it. 

Mr. Rupp (@hashtagjrupp) posted a quirky video to TikTok with a photo of him flashing onto the screen with the words, “I misadministered the ACT and 25 kids got zeroes and had to retake it” in the foreground. He also wrote, “TAKE PROCTORING SERIOUSLY DEAR GOD,” in his caption. 

He acknowledged that it had been eight years since his mistake, but he was ready to publicly move past it. 

His video currently has over 2 million views and plenty of comments sharing their poor experiences with voided exams. 

“A dude snuck his phone in & his snap went off. all our ACTS were voided after we did like 75% of it and the quiet lady proctor yelled so hard at him,” said @sillywawaworker.

“A proctor let kids leave during an ap test for their usual lunch break all tests were voided,” said @btenenbaum.

Mr. Rupp posted another video hours later, explaining exactly what happened. 

@hashtagjrupp

Replying to @clairewilson324 Lunch time account of the misery I caused.

♬ original sound – MR RUPP™️

“I wrote a number down wrong,” he said. “My custom irregularity report stated that I gave the test 10 minutes longer than I should have … But I hadn’t done that because the cameras show that my students went with everyone else’s students during that extra 10 minutes that I had written that I was testing. I read a clock wrong.” 

Once viewers heard the story, their disappointment and criticisms moved away from the teacher to “the system.” 

“That is NOT your fault. That is insane bureaucratic idiocy,” said @lynnsmith4759.

“This 100% should not have been your fault. Misreading a clock in a situation where there is neither life nor death should not have such consequences,” replied @hamstersneak.

He went on to explain how much money it cost to have the students retake the test and the fact that his mistake led to the district’s performance rate plummeting.

His students did let him hear about his mistake, but Rupp says it was the best thing for him. 

“I love the high school students for absolutely cooking me for this. I got roasted. It was relentless, and honestly, that was maybe the best therapy for it.”

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