Some students registered for the AP Environmental Science examination were already frustrated at having to wake up early to arrive at the Palo Alto High School library by 7:30 a.m. But, when they were forced to wait 30 minutes to enter the building and another hour before actually beginning the exam, their frustrations turned to anger.

One could say senior Victoria Tse was one of those individuals. 

“I have no idea why it took so long, it was ridiculous,” Tse said. “We probably all sat down at 8:15 a.m., spent 30 minutes waiting for everybody else to sit down and started the test at 8:50 a.m. going over the instructions that everybody already did at preregistration.”

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson, the Paly administrator in charge of administering that first test, agreed that the process took too long.

“We had a slow start in getting them in the door and getting that first test started,” Berkson said. “[Our main problem was] seeking perfection from the beginning instead of just going with it.”

Berkson stated that much of the delay was the result of the administrator’s attempting to ensure that every student in the testing room was finished with his or her paperwork related to the exam.

“‘Is everybody ready? Is everybody ready? Is everybody ready?’ Berkson asked, mimicking his desire for caution in administering the test. “We probably could have been done with it in 10 or 20 minutes.”

Senior Tory Prati suggested that, although the test administrators might have been unprepared, it is a difficult process to get right.

“There’s so much you have to do to make sure that the testing is secure and the results are fair,” Prati said. “I think the organizers were a little unprepared, but it was the first AP test.”

The delay itself was not the only problem with the test as male students were unable to find adequate time to use the bathroom during testing breaks, according to senior Peter Dennis.

“The guys were supposed to get into the staff bathroom but it wasn’t open,” Dennis said. “There was a line for the boys bathroom and it took forever to get in.”

A small controversy ensued, according to Tse, when students registered for the AP Psychology exam, which was delayed due to the AP Environmental Science delay before it, were let out from the testing room for a break before the administrators allowed other students to leave.

Students, like Prati, planned on missing classes to take the exam, but the delay forced them to miss their lunch break as well.

“I missed the whole morning; I missed lunch too,” Prati said. “I was supposed to be done at 12, instead I finished at 12:40 at the end of lunch so I’m hungry because of it.”

Despite shortcomings, Berkson was optimistic as to the future AP proceedings, this and next week.

“It is the first day of testing; [AP Environmental Science and AP Psychology] are two of the larger AP tests and this is my first time running it,” Berkson said. “We can make adjustments for tomorrow and we’ll be that much better.”