test taking
Radio playing, phone ringing, copy machine sorting and stapling, fax machine ringing, and receptionist placing her lunch order....Does this sound like a very conducive place for one to take a test? I don't think so. This setting, however, is what happened to me last week when I went to take a test for my Statistics class. As I sat there listening to all of these surrounding noises, I began to watch the clock tick and became even more frantic that I couldn't concentrate on the task at hand...which just happened to be a test on which I needed to do well. I have been working diligently to maintain an A average in this statistics class, but this ONE test alone did me in. I had inquired to my professor about taking this test early since we were on Spring Break last week. He obliged, but placed me in a GA's office to take the test. With 30 minutes left to concentrate, I politely asked the GA to turn off the radio and commenced to try to complete the test. When my time was up, I packed up my belongings and left the college.....basically with my tail tucked between my legs.
As I drove home to begin my Spring Break trip to Williamsburg, VA, and Washington, DC, I pondered our upcoming PACT tests. What type of setting do we need to provide for our students to do their best work? Obviously, not the one in which I encountered. All week long, I thought about this test and was disappointed in my situation. However, I need to make sure that this type of setting doesn't occur for students at our school. Knowing my teachers....this would never happen - whether it was a quiz, Brainpop, or a test. We just don't do business that way. Having students do well and feeling good about themselves are top priorities. I didn't do well on the test; I didn't feel good about myself all week. Now tomorrow, it's back to class to face my professor. I guess - if there is anything good that comes from this experience....it's a reminder of what SETTING can do for a person when they are being asked to perform and elicit responses from memory in a test situation. Believe me, I may not remember what a z score or a t score is in 10 years, but I will NEVER forget how I felt when I walked out of the College of Education on March 21. That is ONE feeling that I hope my students at DME never experience!
As I drove home to begin my Spring Break trip to Williamsburg, VA, and Washington, DC, I pondered our upcoming PACT tests. What type of setting do we need to provide for our students to do their best work? Obviously, not the one in which I encountered. All week long, I thought about this test and was disappointed in my situation. However, I need to make sure that this type of setting doesn't occur for students at our school. Knowing my teachers....this would never happen - whether it was a quiz, Brainpop, or a test. We just don't do business that way. Having students do well and feeling good about themselves are top priorities. I didn't do well on the test; I didn't feel good about myself all week. Now tomorrow, it's back to class to face my professor. I guess - if there is anything good that comes from this experience....it's a reminder of what SETTING can do for a person when they are being asked to perform and elicit responses from memory in a test situation. Believe me, I may not remember what a z score or a t score is in 10 years, but I will NEVER forget how I felt when I walked out of the College of Education on March 21. That is ONE feeling that I hope my students at DME never experience!

