Last week, I started a series of posts about my experiences with the Digital SAT. My first time taking the dSAT, I ended up getting sick right before the test date. This time around, I managed to stay healthy. But even when you’re healthy, there is no guarantee that things will go as planned. And as a homeschooler, some of the already stressful things can be magnified.
Staying Calm When the Little Things Go Wrong
When I first got to the SAT this time, I felt like every little thing that could go wrong did. First, they didn’t let us into the building until 8:05 despite saying doors open at 7:45. We sat outside in the sun for about 20 minutes. When we walked in, the room assignments were listed by proctor’s names. Having only been in that school once before, I didn’t know any of the teacher’s names. To make matters worse, only about half the doors had names on them.
I followed the biggest crowd, walking down the most populated hallway, hoping I wouldn’t get all the way down just to find out my classroom was in a different hallway. With almost everyone around me seeming to easily find their rooms, it was a little hard to stay calm, but panicking wasn’t going to help me find the right room. Thankfully, at the second to last doorway I practically ran into a proctor who asked me which room I was looking for. I was so relieved when she turned out to be my proctor.
The next thing that happened was with my computer. My proctor first told me I would need a school Chromebook, and a girl offered to show me where to find them. Then my proctor decided to let me use my personal laptop. But then, while trying to log into the Wi-Fi, I just couldn’t find the right network.
Next thing I knew, I had to walk all the way back down the hallway and try to find the school Chromebooks. I thought I knew where they were since I had to use one the first time as well. But they switched the locations. I was almost in tears- the test was about to start, almost every other student was in a classroom already, the girl who had offered to guide me was long gone, and I had no idea where to find either a Chromebook or someone to ask.
But then there was a kid walking in my direction. I had no idea where he came from, but I knew he was probably my easiest chance at finding the computers. As a generally quiet person in public, especially around people I don’t know, I’m still a little shocked I was able to speak up enough for him to hear me.
I managed to keep a level head and I asked him if he knew where I could find a Chromebook. He didn’t, but he did lead me to someone who did. She pointed me toward the media center, including specific directions on how to get there.
Finally, I found where they kept the Chromebooks. But when I got there, I was asked for my ID. Again, I was about to cry. If I had to walk all the way back to the classroom without a computer, grab my ID, and then find my way back to the media center, I didn’t know what I was going to do. Thankfully, they allowed me to give my full name in place of an ID.
When I made it back to my testing room with a Chromebook in hand, I found out that we couldn’t have water at our desks. For some reason, whenever I take a test, water really helps me concentrate. I was more than a little upset at this, but there was nothing I could do. During the test, I just tried not to think about it and just concentrate on the test questions, and I managed to focus pretty well.
All these little things were upsetting. If I set up my ideal testing situation, these things definitely would not have happened. And it’s hard to be prepared for these different situations (how could I have known they would switch the Chromebook location?). But it’s also important to not let these things throw you off. If you go in knowing that something less than ideal will happen, and you resolve to keep a clear head about it, you’ll have a much easier time staying calm. And when you stay calm and keep a level head, you’ll be much more likely to be able to focus on the questions no matter what kind of test you’re taking.
Leave a Reply