On Dec. 11, all seniors in a regular government class took the state-mandated AIR Test.

Government teacher Kristine Kornblut prepared her students all semester for the test. Teachers Brittany Pumphrey and Carl DiBernardo also helped prepare their government students for the test.

Kornblut said, “We have been working on [preparing] since day one in August and began intense study sessions two weeks prior to the test.”

The test was scheduled for three hours, but most of the students finished with over an hour to spare.

Senior Greg Gorjanc took only an hour to take the exam. He said, “I felt like I was really well prepared for the exam. We went over everything a lot during class with Mrs. Pumphrey. I felt like she really helped us.”

According to Kornblut, the purpose for the state testing is to show proficiency in civics and American government and to recognize that those who graduate have a basic fundamental knowledge of the political system and its history, including all 27 amendments.

Senior Shea Page felt the test was easier for her and her classmates than expected because they were very well prepared by her teachers.

Page said, “I can’t say I was nervous about the test because we knew what to expect and reviewed everything in class. It was exceptionally easy, and it turned out that everybody finished within an hour and a half.”

The students had been expecting to have writing assignments on the test, but there happened to be none on the actual exam. They had also gone over real-life scenarios and took advantage of their review workbooks to help study.

According to Page, most of the test questions were common sense, but also the memorization of different amendments and practice tests helped the students fly through the exam.

Kornblut said, “The students here at Mayfield usually do very well on the test. We are above 90% statewide. I don’t think it is as challenging as it could be.”

In Kornblut’s opinion, she wishes the test had more real-life applications rather than just meaningless questions.

After the students had completed the exam, many simply waited for the remaining time to pass, since there was no access to phones or chromebooks.

Page said, “After we finished, Mr. Linn had come in and asked on a scale of one to ten how hard it was. No one said more than two. Everyone felt the same way that it was just exceptionally easy.”