Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Scenes from the Testing Room

It's that time of year again. CAHSEE testing time!

*Crowd cheers.*

False Alarms

Cell phones are an issue, especially at the continuation high school. Before we started, I had one battle. ("If you insist on having that phone out, your test will be invalidated and you'll be kicked out.") I kept an eye peeled...  

Girl looking down at her lap. Fingers moving. I moved to a vantage point behind her...to find that she was picking at her nails.  

Boy had something in his lap. Just as I was ready to pounce, he brought the item up to his face. Lip balm.  

Bored

The students who finish session 1 quickly have to wait for the rest of the group before we start session 2. (After they finish session 2, they get to leave.) One boy asked for scratch paper--which I did not have.  

So, necessity and all, he rolled up his sleeve, exposing his arm. He got out a pen...  

Well, that's one solution.  

(About that time I realized that since the test booklet could be used as scratch paper for the test, there was no reason he couldn't draw all over it. Saved his arm, just in the nick of time.)  

Asleep

The CAHSEE is untimed. But that doesn't mean the students get to sleep when they should be working. (I don't get to go home until all tests are finished, so I watch out for sleepers.)  

His head wasn't down on the desk. He started off by staring into space. As sometimes the students do that (they then figure out whatever and get back to work), I moved on. I looked back at him later, and his eyes were closed.  

I walked over, and just before I reached him, he awoke. Apparently, he was just resting his eyes for a moment.  


A pretty sedate testing session. Not that I mind. It's certainly better than encountering a big freaking cockroach.  

4 comments:

  1. It sounds like you are on top of things. If I was your employer, I'd give you a raise.

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  2. Goodness, I remember being that student--the one who just needed to rest the eyes. Something about 5 AM rehearsals and not getting home until between midnight and 3 from performances, well, can I just say I empathize?

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    Replies
    1. I can sympathize. I probably would have told you to go ahead and put your head down and sleep...after you finished session 1.

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  3. Ah, state testing. I can sympathize with wanting to sleep during the tests. It just seems like much more fun than the test. And more helpful.

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