A white piece of paper taped to the heavy doors of Selma High School Monday read, “Do Not Disturb.” Inside, students took the mathematics section of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. The AHSGE began Friday with the science section, and so far, it is going off without a hitch.

“Everything is going well,” testing and guidance coordinator Mamie Solomon said.

Students burst out the front doors shortly after 3 p.m. and let off steam by talking on cell phones and popping headphones into their ears.

Sophomore Roosevelt Jones said the halls were still and empty.

“Very quiet,” Jones said. “It was boring.”

As for the test, which was administered in the south wing, Jones said it was difficult and long.

“Kind of hard,” he said. “But I bared through it.”

Sophomore Demarcus Howard had a different experience. He said he breezed through the math section.

“It wasn’t hard,” Howard said.

In fact, the only bit of chaos occurred in the cafeteria, far away from the testing sites. Sophomore Christina McClain said the lunchroom stayed busy long after the test ended at 1 p.m. The AHSGE knocked everyone out of the regular lunch schedule.

“The school was very chaotic in the lunchroom,” McClain said.

The AHSGE, which begins each morning at 8:30 a.m., will continue the rest of the week. The schedule is: reading on Tuesday, language on Wednesday, social studies on Thursday and biology on Friday.