MCAS extension approved for Uxbridge schools after smoking laptop incident

UXBRIDGE – Students at Whitin Intermediate School now have until May 2 to complete their MCAS exams, after a student suffered burns to the hand due to a laptop malfunction while taking the test earlier this month.

The student was taking the test when his computer began smoking and the Fire Department was called. The student was taken to the hospital and treated for burns.

Following the incident, students had to turn in their school-issued laptops. Since then, Acer, the computer manufacturer, sent 450 replacement computers. Students began using these replacement laptops this week, Superintendent Michael Baldassarre said in an email.

Following the incident, Acer released a statement calling it "an isolated incident." A forensic investigator is still looking into what caused the computer to ignite.

School officials said the Department of Education has granted the school an extension to complete the MCAS exams by May 2.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Uxbridge school receives new laptops after one burned a student