Third-grader ignores snakebite to finish test

AUGUSTA - A third-grader in Columbia County, who thought she would not be promoted to the fourth grade if she didn&#39;t take a standardized test, ignored a snakebite to finish the exam. <br> <br> Sarah Bushee, a nine-year-old at Westmont Elementary School, was bitten on the arm by a three-foot-long green snake while trying to find a sandal behind the school. <br> <br> Bushee said she didn&#39;t report the bite at first because she was afraid of missing the test -- mistakenly thinking, if she did, she wouldn&#39;t get into the forth grade. <br> <br> Schools throughout the state are administering the Criterion Reference Competency Test this week. Makeups are provided for absentees. <br> <br> Principal Sandra Black said, ``I asked her if she screamed and she said yes, but there was nobody around to hear her. I asked her why she didn&#39;t turn around and go home, but she said she didn&#39;t want to be late for the test.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> When the exam was over, Bushee reported the snakebite to her teacher and was taken to the school nurse. She went to the hospital and returned to school an hour later.

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