March 12th, 2010 by Kate Hedman
The New York Times recently published an article called Test-Takers’ Rights, providing a useful outline of some of the things that are required in a testing environment. Reading it should help prepare you in case something goes wrong.
To clarify the last point on their page – you can get your scores cancelled if you choose to. The article mentions that “best you can hope for is a refund or a free retake.” The refund or retake is in addition to your scores being cancelled, which the College Board will do for you if you ask them by the Wednesday after the test.
Kate Hedman, MSEd, has been helping students succeed on the SAT for seven years. She has been a verbal teacher with ESC for six years, and taught high school English for three years. She loves reading about new advances in brain research that she can use in the classroom to help her students learn how to achieve higher scores on the SAT.
March 5th, 2010 by Kate Hedman
Last time, we covered the SAT testing environment. This time, we are going to talk about your proctor.
If you are familiar with the environment, bring the required materials, and have practiced taking the SAT so you know pretty much what will be on it, then the only variable you have left to contend with is the identity of the proctor. While there are some horror stories, including a wonderfully awful one in the New York Times about a proctor who arranged flowers and talked on the phone, most proctors know what they’re doing. If, by any chance, you find your proctor acting bizarrely, then make sure you speak up soon after the test; remember, as mentioned in the last article, the College Board can cancel your scores if you ask them to do it by the Wednesday after test day.
Kate Hedman, MSEd, has been helping students succeed on the SAT for seven years. She has been a verbal teacher with ESC for six years, and taught high school English for three years. She loves reading about new advances in brain research that she can use in the classroom to help her students learn how to achieve higher scores on the SAT.
March 3rd, 2010 by Kate Hedman
It’s news to nobody that the environment in which a student takes a test can affect his or her score. That’s why teachers take such care in preventing talking during exams, seat students where they cannot read off of each other’s papers, and make sure desks are clear of materials that would facilitate cheating. So one would expect the SAT environment to be no different - to be a tightly regulated place where students’ scores should be based only on their merits in a standardized environment. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Just as there are variations in environment from classroom to classroom – wooden walls versus cinderblock, rural versus urban environments – there are variations in environment on test day, and these variations can affect students’ scores.
There are, however, ways to mitigate some of the possibly adverse effects of an unfamiliar or unusual testing environment, the best of which is foreknowledge of the particulars of the testing room. If it is possible, arrange to take the SAT in an environment with which you are familiar, preferably where you have sat for an exam previously or where you have at least spent some time. Be familiar with the noise level, seating arrangements, lighting, chalkboards and whiteboards (where proctors may write the time), and visibility of clocks in the room.
If, on the day of the exam, you encounter an unexpected environmental problem, like being seated next to a particularly annoying test taker, then ask your proctor for help. The College Board says that it’s up to the proctor whether, for instance, a student gets to change seats, so by all means be polite when making requests. Your final out if something in the environment causes you problems is the College Board itself. They will cancel your scores if you request that service by the Wednesday after the test day. Remember: be prepared to speak up about problems, or forever live with your SAT scores.
Kate Hedman, MSEd, has been helping students succeed on the SAT for seven years. She has been a verbal teacher with ESC for six years, and taught high school English for three years. She loves reading about new advances in brain research that she can use in the classroom to help her students learn how to achieve higher scores on the SAT.
