How the Test Was Won

"How The Test Was Won" is a Season 20 episode of The Simpsons. It aired on March 1, 2009. This episode was rated TV PG DLV

Plot
Bart accidentally receives a perfect score on a practice test for the upcoming Vice President's Assessment Test, by writing "Slurp My Snot" across his page. This enables him to attend a special pizza party, with a helicopter as his escort. However, it turns out to be a clever plan to purge the school of all bad test takers. Bart didn't receive a perfect score and the helicopter is a disguised school bus. He, Nelson, Ralph, Kearney, Dolph, and Jimbo are driven to Capital City by Otto, along with Principal Skinner, who was pushed onboard the bus by Superintendent Chalmers. On the way, Ralph stops for a bathroom break, and the bus is disassembled by a vandal (while Otto is still sitting in it). The group attempts to walk the rest of the way, but they lose Ralph on a garbage barge. Skinner signals for a piano cargo ship to rescue Ralph with its crane, but he accidentally stuns the driver. Skinner rescues Ralph himself by jumping onboard the crate hoisted by the crane and using the law of conservation of angular momentum. He lands on the barge and the kids and Otto follow him. As it turns out, the garbage barge they have all landed on is headed towards Springfield Elementary. The boys now believe that education is impressive due to Skinner's saving the day, and so Skinner reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the boys until they arrive, which they enjoy. Meanwhile, Homer is late making an insurance payment, and won't be insured until 3:00 PM, so he can't hurt himself until then. Images of injuries flood his mind when he gets home, envisioning Marge's book club being killed by a series of freak accidents. He has to keep the entire book club safe while he is still uninsured, but ends up throwing a knife in Mr. Burns head at 3:01 as he randomly walks onto the Simpsons' property. Marge, however, is pleased to know what Homer can and can't do. At school, Lisa is unable to focus on the test, as the thought of Bart being smarter torments her. When the test ends, she hasn't answered a single question. However, Skinner returns just in time to cancel the test and lift the school's ban on dancing.

Characters

 * Homer Simpson
 * Marge Simpson
 * Bart Simpson
 * Lisa Simpson
 * George H.W. Bush
 * Drederick Tatum
 * Barney Gumble
 * Carl Carlson
 * Lenny Leonard
 * Moe Szyslak
 * Disco Stu
 * Ned Flanders
 * Principal Seymour Skinner
 * Edna Krabappel
 * Chief Wiggum
 * Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
 * Maggie Simpson
 * Mr. Becker
 * Nelson Muntz
 * Superintendent Chalmers
 * Mr. Largo
 * Martin Prince
 * Milhouse Van Houten
 * Lewis
 * Richard
 * Sherri and Terri
 * Francine Rhenquist
 * Janey Powell
 * Lunchlady Doris
 * Ralph Wiggum
 * Wendell
 * Coach Krupt

Trivia/Cultural references

 * When Bart, Nelson, Jimbo, Kearney, Dolph, and Ralph go to the "helicopter", Gonna Fly Now, the theme from Rocky, plays.
 * There is also a Kid vs. Kat episode called How the Test Was Won.


 * According to Homer the entire series took place over a week. Odd, considering he had a flashback involved Treehouse of Horror XIII. This could, however, be a sign that Homer is not good at keeping track of time.
 * When Homer mentions that if they let one injury happen, they'll end up in the Poorhouse, Marge corrects him with "you mean 'back to the poorhouse'", which was a reference to the events of No Loan Again, Naturally.

How The Test Was Won