Russian to English Art/Literary Other

Back before the age of standardized tests and all that feel-good nonsense, you were called to the blackboard, in front of the entire class, to recite your lesson, or write stuff on that blackboard, and that's how you earned your grades. Well, at least some of them. I googled "call to the blackboard," and was quite amazed to see that the phrase actually rings a bell. So, the question I have is primarily to the natives who went to school back at that glorious time: does the phrase ring a bell? Would it be clear enough without additional explanations what being called to the blackboard is? I would also like to ask the same question of those of you who are younger than me and went to school in the US or the UK in more recent time: how alien is the concept? I asked my son who is a year away from graduating high school and he said they didn't even have blackboards anymore. They have whiteboards or smart boards. He kind of figured what I meant though.

Many thanks for your input. Any other suggestions, comments or trips down memory lanes are most welcome.