Report: Students Hacked System To Fix Grades

RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif. -- Honors students from Rancho Bernardo High School used stolen passwords and hacking tools from the Internet to break into the school computer system to steal advance copies of tests and change grades, it was reported Tuesday.

A district investigation found the hacking was done from inside the school using wireless access to the system, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Poway Unified School District Superintendent Don Phillips said six students implicated in the cheating scandal were suspended pending administrative hearings. District officials have previously said that the students involved were in advanced placement programs and were at risk of losing scholarships and acceptance promises to colleges in the fall.

The cheating scandal at Rancho Bernardo High, an affluent institution in northeastern San Diego, became public about two weeks ago. Initially, eight students were implicated but evidence against two of them fell short during the district's investigation, Phillips told the Union-Tribune.

District officials have not said how they learned of the cheating.

Administrative panels were expected to begin scheduling hearings for the remaining six suspended students next week, Jack Sleeth, an attorney retained by the district, told the newspaper.