Twelve Yo San grads made the trek to Ontario, California in February for the winter California Board Exam and at first, there was much confusion. Amtrak and Metrolink trains ran past the hotels all night long, waking many of the test-takers every two hours the night before the test.
The Ontario Convention Center, hosting the exam for the first time, didn’t seem well-prepared for the onslaught of nearly 600 test-takers, changing their security policies throughout the day as they tried to deal with their miscalculations.
Food was hard to find because students were barred from the concession stands in the Convention Center (thank you Marilyn Allen for providing baked potatoes and soup for those in need!).
And the exam had a number of proctoring glitches which were slightly crazy-making for a group that had arrived with enough of their own anxiety and certainly didn’t need any extra. So, by the end of a very long day – a day that started at 8:00am and ended at 5:30pm – morale at the Convention Center was low. But this is when we have to remember that our students have completed a Yo San education, an education that prepares them for highs and lows, twists and turns, and serious academic rigor.
On Saturday March 13th, just one day prior to graduation, exam results suddenly arrived in the mail. Imagine how proud our twelve test-takers were to discover just moments before graduation day that they had all passed the exam. Yes, all twelve. 100%. Another one for the Yo San record books.
Congratulations to all of our test-takers who proved once again that whether they are testing in Ontario, testing in Sacramento, or quietly studying at 13315 W. Washington Boulevard, Yo San students stand head and shoulders above the crowd.