On Wednesday, October 15 2025, Garfield High School provided the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for 12th grade students. Students were assigned classrooms to take the exam and over fifteen volunteers acted as proctors. Unfortunately, during the end of the first math section, a fire alarm sounded, resulting in a schoolwide evacuation while test timers were still ticking. Here is a detailed breakdown of what happened:
8:50 AM – Students arrived at the school, eager to take the two hour exam that many spent weeks studying for. One student reported that they were feeling incredibly prepared. “I went through tons and tons of practice questions,” Cufley, a senior at Garfield, stated. Test takers found their assigned room and got situated, placing their bags and devices at the back of the classroom.
9:30 AM – Students began to test in most classrooms. Many felt as though they were on a roll, flying through the exam. “I felt really confident in my answers and was excited because I felt like the math section was going really well for me,” Cufley added.
10:30 AM – The Reading and Writing section ended. Testing was going smoothly, students were in the zone, and it was snack time! It felt as though nothing could go wrong, until…
10:55 AM – Students jumped in their seats as the first Math Module was cut short by an ear splitting noise. Students of all grade levels flooded through the halls, tripping over each other on their way to exits.
11:05 AM – Everything became chaotic. No one knew where to go, who to talk to, or what to do. The entire student body marched to the field, cluelessly dispersing to various yard lines. Seniors were bubbling with anger, as many were confident with how they were doing on the exam and were upset over the fact that their scores would likely be canceled. “I was so frustrated because that meant that my score wasn’t going to come back in time for Early Action deadlines,” Cufley commented.
11:25 AM – Students were told to reenter the building and return to their respective classrooms. As seniors went back to their assigned room, confusion continued. Some proctors advised students to stop testing completely, some had seniors continue with the exam, and others had students treat the rest of the test as “practice,” meaning they could use their phones and speak to one another while testing.
Following the fire alarm incident, Principal Hart informed seniors of their three options: retaking the SAT and cancelling their original score, keeping their original score, or not retaking and canceling their original score. No matter what students decided, it was a major disruption for all seniors, especially for those with early college deadlines. The October 15 SAT was many seniors’ final chance for a score they felt confident in, but they were robbed of that opportunity.
