Acer Chromebook Injured MA Student, Led To MCAS Cancelation: District

UXBRIDGE, MA — The Whitin Intermediate School student burned by a laptop during MCAS testing Tuesday was using an Acer C734 Chromebook, a popular model used nationwide, according to district officials.

All students in the district will turn in their Chromebooks on Wednesday for safety inspections. There are about 150,000 Acer C734 laptops in use nationwide, the district said in a news release, and Tuesday's incident is the first known where a student was injured by one.

"We believe this is an isolated incident, and we are awaiting the return of the unit to investigate the root cause. We began shipping this model in October of 2021 and have shipped more than 600,000 units, and there have been zero additional reports of battery overheating to the point of causing smoke. Acer closely monitors the failure rates and causes of all product lines — the C734 Chromebook is highly reliable with few technical issues of any kind," Acer said in a statement sent to the press Wednesday.

According to the district, a Whitin student was taking the English language MCAS test on Tuesday when their Chromebook began smoking. The student received medical treatment, and the statewide tests were canceled for students in the district in 4th through 7th grades.

The district is working to source about 450 new laptops — not necessarily the C734 model — so students can complete MCAS testing by the April 26 deadline. Next week is April vacation for Uxbridge and most districts in the state. Acer is also sending a technician to inspect the faulty laptop, according to the district.

“We want to make sure we evaluate what happened with this unit before we move forward” using that model, Superintendent Michael Baldassarre said in a news release.