The cast really liked Tom Jones as a guest star. They said he was fun to work with, and was really nice, and even offered to perform a concert after he was done recording lines.
All the jargon used by Troy McClure was accurately taken from a Time-Life foundation repair book.
When the show first aired, Mrs. Krabappel tells Bart that he faked every illness he could think of to get out of taking the test, including Tourette's Syndrome (with Bart snarling, barking, and making inappropriate comments at Mrs. Krabappel). This caused a lot of controversy with viewers, including one who had Tourette's and threatened to sue the show for its unflattering depiction of the condition. When the show reran during the summer, the "Tourette's Syndrome" reference became "rabies" and Bart's snarling and barking was cut. In syndication, the "Tourette's Syndrome" reference was reinstated, but not Bart's snarling and barking. On the season four DVD set and the reruns shown on FXX, the "rabies" line is used, yet Bart's snarling and barking was reinstated. About the only place the original version exists is on English-speaking international versions shown in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The full original version remains on Disney+.
An animation error during the dream sequence with Mr. Burns also caused issues when dealing with network censors, mistaking a "lump in his bed" which was supposed to be Mr. Smithers' knee as an erection.