Why Do I Have to Use a Number 2 Pencil?
Why do exams always tell you to use a number 2 pencil? What happens if you don't? Quick Questions explains! Hosted by: Michael Aranda ---------- Messages from our Subbable subscribers: ...
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You probably know the drill: You’re handed an exam, and you’re told you need to fill out the bubbles completely, and then reminded that -- for reasons that no one ever explains -- you can only use a number 2 pencil! Now, unless you’re an artist, you’ve probably never even seen a pencil that’s not number 2, also known as an HB pencil outside the U.S. The thing is, if you used any other kind of pencil when you took an automatically-scored test, you’d probably be fine. However there are reasons that test instructions still tell you to stick to number 2. And they have a lot to do with how machines score your tests -- or at least, how they used to. In 1931, a high school physics teacher named Reynold Johnson was grading exams when he wondered if there mi...
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You probably know the drill: You’re handed an exam, and you’re told you need to fill out the bubbles completely, and then reminded that -- for reasons that no one ever explains -- you can only use a number 2 pencil! Now, unless you’re an artist, you’ve probably never even seen a pencil that’s not number 2, also known as an HB pencil outside the U.S. The thing is, if you used any other kind of pencil when you took an automatically-scored test, you’d probably be fine. However there are reasons that test instructions still tell you to stick to number 2. And they have a lot to do with how machines score your tests -- or at least, how they used to. In 1931, a high school physics teacher named Reynold Johnson was grading exams when he wondered if there mi...
