As students near the end of a marathon of SAT testing, they scramble to bubble in their last few answers. In nearby classrooms, students breathe a sigh of relief as the proctor collects their tests. Suddenly, they’re interrupted by a shrill, grating sound: the fire alarm. The false alarm, which was caused by an errant lacrosse ball during the lacrosse team’s indoor practice, went off during SAT testing at Whitman this past Saturday.

Because some students were still working on the last section when the alarm went off, proctors were unsure of how to proceed. Many chose to ignore the alarm and continue administering the test.

Junior Maria Ramirez said her class had just two minutes remaining in the final section, and the proctor instructed them to work through the alarm.

“It was really hard to concentrate with the alarm going off,” she said. “Then a security guard came in and told us we all had to leave.”

Testing groups were evacuated outside and then allowed to return and finish the test. Students were careful not to discuss the test or take out their phones during their time outside, Ramirez said.

Still, many students are concerned that their scores could be invalidated. The Educational Testing Service reserves the right to cancel test scores as a result of testing irregularities, according to the College Board website.

“I would be so mad if I found out that I wasted four hours of my life taking the SAT but wouldn’t get a score for it,” junior Zoe Berkovitz said.
The incident also shed light on inconsistent procedures for proctors, many of whom didn’t know how to react to the fire alarm.

“I’m sure they didn’t go over that in the proctor instructions,” Berkovitz said. “I did get a little worried when our proctor wouldn’t let us leave the room until he had collected everyone’s test.”

Security tried to clear the building immediately after the alarm, but some classrooms still did not evacuate quickly, security team leader Cherisse Milliner said.

“There were still people coming out of the building five minutes later,” she said. “ They didn’t take the alarm seriously.”