In the “Deuce to Seven/Kansas City” variation of low-ball poker the pot is won, not by the best or highest poker hand as in most games, but rather by the lowest or worst one. The perfect hand to have in that game is in fact the worst poker hand possible, which (with aces high) is a "seventy-five," an unsuited “7 high” hand comprised of a 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Such a “perfect” low hand is referred to as “lock low” and I think the “ultimate imperfection” notion of “lock low” could easily be transferred to and understood in the context of test scores and serve as a suitable antonym for “ultimate perfection”: his/her score was “lock low” — s/he had a “lock-low score” of zero.

Unfortunately, as a result of spending too much time pursuing elusive lock low poker hands in college, many of us "obtained" rock bottom, lock-low test scores instead!

In the “Deuce to Seven/Kansas City” variation of low-ball poker the pot is won, not by the best or highest poker hand as in most games, but rather by the lowest or worst one. The perfect hand to have in that game is in fact the worst poker hand possible, which (with aces high) is a "seventy-five," an unsuited “7 high” hand comprised of a 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Such a “perfect” low hand is referred to as “lock low” and I think the “ultimate imperfection” notion of “lock low” could easily be transferred to and understood in the context of test scores and serve as a suitable antonym for “ultimate perfection”: his/her score was “lock low” — s/he had a “lock-low score” of zero.

Unfortunately, as a result of spending too much time pursuing elusive lock low poker hands in college, many of us "drew" rock bottom, lock-low test scores instead!