An irregularity in ACT testing conditions April 25 will require nearly three dozen Hinsdale Central High School students to retake the exam, according to Principal Kevin Pobst.

The second tests were ordered by ACT representatives due to a misinterpretation of procedures for students in accommodated testing.

“There was no error on the part of the students,” Pobst said in a July 19 letter sent to parents. “The school’s error identified by ACT was inadvertent and technical.”

Although the error affected just one student, ACT requires all the students in the classroom to repeat the exam.

“Whether that one kid was there or not, it did not affect anyone else's score,” said board member Richard Skoda during Monday’s Hinsdale Township High School District 86 meeting. “It’s just very unreasonable.”

Hinsdale Central followed the appeals process, requesting the exams be scored and validated, but the petition was declined.

The test, which normally costs $30, will be retaken at no cost to the students. Pobst also mentioned at the board meeting students may be offered test preparation options.

“A number of these kids spent a lot of time and money preparing for this test,” Pobst said at the meeting.

The exam, administered at the high school, was part of the ACT-PSAE test, a series of state-required standardized testing.

“I really feel sorry for the kids,” Skoda said. “It’s hard to get all fired up and take that test again.”