499: Scantron

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 22:13, 8 February 2014 by 173.245.53.137 (talk) (Explanation: As a German, I never came across this sentence during my school life ;))
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Scantron
Also, after all the warnings about filling in the bubbles completely, I spent like 30 seconds on each one.
Title text: Also, after all the warnings about filling in the bubbles completely, I spent like 30 seconds on each one.

Explanation

This comic is a take on the instructions "Remember to use a #2 pencil on the Scantron" that most modern students in the USA have heard something approaching a hundred times. Scantrons are standardized machine-readable papers used by students to answer multiple-choice tests. Often, the instructor will remind students to use a #2 pencil, which is the US term for the pencil hardness HB. HB pencils use a medium-hardness graphite considered ideal for Scantron use because the graphite is soft enough to leave a dark mark but hard enough to not smudge, both aspects that improve the performance of machine-readable paper.

The joke is that the student used a #3 pencil, which has a slightly harder graphite rating, on the Scantron as opposed to a #2 pencil, causing the grading machine to explode and harm some characters off-panel.

The title text refers to the instruction to "fill in all the bubbles completely." This again improves the performance of machine-readable paper. Randall states that he spent an inordinate amount of time making sure his markings were perfect because he had been warned so many times to do so (five seconds is usually enough).

Transcript

[A classroom scene. There are two desks, and the front one is occupied by the student. Miss Lenhart stands panel right facing the student.]
Miss Lenhart: Okay class, I've turned in your exams for grading. Now—
Student: Miss Lenhart?
[View is now simply student in desk and teacher. Teacher looks horrified.]
Student: I used a #3 pencil instead of a #2. Will that mess anything up?
Miss Lenhart: You WHAT?
[Teacher stands, covering her head, in front of an off-panel right explosion. The unseen speaker is off-panel right.]
AIEEE
BLAM
Unseen speaker: OH GOD!
[The student and teacher are left-panel, both looking shocked. The unseen speaker is still off-panel right.]
Unseen speaker: OH GOD! I've never seen so much blood!


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Discussion

I used a 2B pencil for the SAT. Hope I didn't kill anyone. --Troy0 (talk) 09:30, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

I see your dilemma. The test starts and you only have a 2B pencil. Take the risk or fail the test? 2B or not 2B?--162.158.86.71 12:20, 6 October 2016 (UTC)
2B. Glory to mankind. SilverMagpie (talk) 16:16, 23 May 2019 (UTC)

It always bugged me how strictly my teachers would enforce this--Potato Gunman3 (talk) 02:01, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

I find it weird that they point out how an imperfect mark will not register, but they warn against any stray marks or an incompletely erased bubble will. Which is it, one or the other? RedHatGuy68 (talk) 01:48, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

Probably because it might register sometimes but not other times? Beanie (talk) 09:45, 30 March 2021 (UTC)

I always thought it strange they always told you to use a #2 pencil even though anything but a #2 pencil is pretty rare for a student to even find.108.162.221.10 22:41, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

"that most modern students have heard" Not true. First of all, I've never even heard of this "Scantron" thing, and second of all, I've never had tests with only multiple choice things. In fact, multiple choice things are very rare, I think I could count all the times I've had a test involving them with only one hand. 162.158.238.166 14:35, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

Same here. Although I am in England: maybe this is an American thing (i.e. should be "most modern US students")? Particularly considering the use of #2 vs #3 (which I've never encountered) as opposed to HB vs H. -- 141.101.99.179 20:47, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

My country uses 2B pencils/mechanical pencils for shading, if we used a different shade, for example, 3B, the machine will not be able to detect the darker/lighter shade. Boeing-787lover 13:45, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

Ever since I saw kerning, I can’t help but notice the “me ss” is panel two.172.68.174.40 18:55, 16 February 2018 (UTC)


all the machine scanned tests I've done either ask for 2B or HB (the most common type), or a blue or black pen {{unsigned ip|162.158.2.39|07:14, 23 September 2023}

2B or HB..? That is the question! 172.69.79.185 22:21, 23 September 2023 (UTC)