Seventeen CSAP tests were stolen from Boulder High School and will be given scores of zero when the school's average is calculated, school officials said Wednesday. Hear What Principal Has To Say About Stolen CSAPs The Colorado Student Achievement Program tests are used to measure how well students are mastering subjects and to assess how schools are doing. The tests do not affect individual students' grades. "Our community is expecting us to get a high score on our (school) report cards, so to all those people I feel some sense of responsibility and that we've let them down," Boulder High School Principal Chris King said. The tests were apparently taken at random from alphabetically ordered boxes of tests in a locked room at the high school. The school said that it will step up security for future testing. The incident is under investigation. School officials said that they have no suspects or motive. Under a new state law, which Gov. Bill Owens supported, CSAP scores will be used to assess schools' performance for the first time this year. Schools that do well or improve will get extra funding. Failing schools that do not improve will be converted to charter schools with new management. The theft in Boulder is the latest in a string of problems with the test this year. A Greeley teacher was suspended for refusing to administer the test, a Colorado Springs principal resigned after giving students a second chance to finish it, and several tests in Adams County were invalidated because students answered questions after time ran out. Previous Stories:

• March 8, 2001: Battle Over CSAP Scores Looms
• March 6, 2001: Principal Resigns For Giving Students Second Chance At CSAP Test
• January 18, 2001: Parents Take CSAP Test