Seattle Schools confirms grade tampering at Ingraham

Grade tampering suspected at three Seattle high schools has been confirmed only at Ingraham High School, according to Seattle Public Schools.

It's the only school "that we've been able to verify that a grade has been changed so far," spokeswoman Teresa Wippel said.

Earlier in the week, a school-district official said it was possible there had been grade tampering at Ballard and Chief Sealth high schools, too.

In the case of Ingraham High, a student got a teacher's password using a "key logger," a device that fits into a USB port and monitors keystrokes. The student unlawfully entered the teacher's room by tampering with the lock, according to a news release. He then changed his grades and the grades of at least one other student, Wippel said.

A teacher noticed a grade didn't look right at the end of spring break, and the Information Technology and security staff began investigating, according to the release.

The district took disciplinary action against the student, but for privacy reasons neither the student's name nor the disciplinary action is being released, Wippel said.

All passwords at Ingraham will be changed by Monday, and the district is auditing grade-book changes in all secondary schools as a precaution, according to the release.

Seattle Police are investigating and have written a report, Wippel said.

Brittney Wong: 206-464-3195 or bwong@seattletimes.com