Question for British list members/PS for Goddlefrood

[Carol]

> > Carol:
> > ACTs (I've forgotten what it stands for--academic something-or-
other tests, probably) 
> 
> Mike:
> American College Testing. It might have gone by a different name in
our day, Carol.
>
Carol:
No. I'm sure that the name hasn't changed. It's just so long ago and
far away that I've forgotten everything except the sheer terror of
sitting in the auditorium with the test booklets and dull number two
pencils and (IIRC) pink-and-white answer sheets, trying to fill in the
circles (were they circles?) completely, occasionally having to erase
and fearing that I wasn't erasing completely, wondering whether to
take my time and get the questions I answered right or hurry through
and answer more questions. (Were wrong answers penalized? I've
forgotten.) Did we have boards on our laps to compensate for not
sitting at desks?

All that remains is "The horror! The horror!" to quote Mistah Kurtz.

Carol, whose last standardized test, the GRE (Graduate Record exam) in
grad school, was equally traumatic (as was opening up the envelope to
see the scores--Hermione, I know how you feel!)