BROTHERS BUCKLED DOWN ON GED TEST, NOW LOOK AT COLLEGE

Chris McLeod never made it through the 10th grade, but the 16-year-old has his sights set on college.

McLeod was expelled from Jackson High School last fall. But in early June, after studying for three weeks in the learning center at the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School, he took the General Educational Development test and passed.

McLeod's brother, Tim, was expelled from Jackson High School in 1992 for slashing tires. Tim McLeod was involved in the Dec. 5, 1991, vandalism in which 104 tires were slashed on Jackson school buses. He was only a few months away from graduation when he was expelled.

Earlier this year, Tim McLeod took the GED test and passed. "He just went and took the test," Chris McLeod recalled in late August as he was preparing to move into a two-bedroom apartment in Marble Hill with his 20-year-old brother.

Both McLeods are talking of going to college at the University of Kansas in a few years.

Chris McLeod wants to go to architecture school or perhaps major in business.

"I've always been talented in music and art and sculpting and designing things," he said.

He also had a talent for trouble. McLeod admits he was in trouble a lot in school, dating back to the seventh grade.

After his brother was arrested for slashing bus tires, Chris McLeod felt like he was in a fish bowl. "Everybody was pretty much expecting me to mess up."

McLeod says he was expelled from school for being tardy to class.

To prepare for the GED, McLeod studied up on math and essay writing. He took a predictor test to find out what areas he needed to work on.

In early June, he took the GED test at the Show Me Center, along with 30 or 40 other people.

"It was such a long test," recalled McLeod. It took eight hours to take it.

The test actually consists of five timed parts, covering science, social studies, math, reading and English. It is all multiple choice, except for the essay that comprises part of the English exam.

McLeod said he fell asleep for about 45 minutes toward the end of the eight hours. When he awoke, he had only a few minutes remaining to answer the last 43 questions, all in the science category. "I just guessed at the end."

He passed by 14 points, a fact he mentions with smiling relief.

McLeod spent the summer working at the National Guard armory through a job training program.

He still spends time at the vocational-technical school, accompanying a friend who is studying to take the GED test.