Column: Passing the test
Published 12:50 pm Monday, June 9, 2025
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Scott Mims | Community Columnist
As this school year drew to a close, my son reminded me of one of my least favorite school memories—taking a comprehensive exam. My mind immediately went back to a chapter he has not yet dealt with—the ACT.
It isn’t that I didn’t do well; I was happy with my score. Let’s just say no one in the classroom had a hard time staying awake during the testing process. And no, we didn’t all drink strong coffee beforehand. It was the testing session itself that ended with a bang.
When I picture the scenario in my head, I recall that we were all busy quietly taking the test, marking our answers. I do not remember how far into the test we were, or which subject I was on at the time.
Anyway, we had one of those old-fashioned heaters in the back of the room. I do not know enough about heaters to tell you exactly what kind it was; I just remember that it had a metallic door on the front.
My desk was fairly close to the heater—and, like many high school desks, it had uneven legs so it rocked back and forth slightly as I sat there. I guess that heater door must have been loose, because my desk disturbed it just enough that it fell off of the unit and landed on the hard floor—“KABLAM!”
Now, know when I say this that an all-caps KABLAM does not do the sound justice. It was loud; I mean, embarrassingly loud to the point that it sounded like an explosion. It was like all of the air was sucked out of the room.
It took a minute for everyone to figure out what it was, because it was so unexpected and so random. Suddenly all eyes were on me. Thankfully, nobody gave me a hard time about it other than to say how scared they were in that moment—on top of having test day nerves.
My hope is that nobody’s score was affected by that distraction, even though it did disrupt everybody’s concentration. I was fortunate enough to not have to re-take the exam.
My advice to those taking tests is as follows: Study carefully, get plenty of sleep the night before, pray for clarity of mind, and always pick a desk that is planted firmly on the ground.