I guess there was some confusion about what a placement test is (even though the name is obvious enough), so I guess I'll make a post and tell you about how it went today:
I woke up at 8 and got a shower, and we were on the road by 9. It took us an hour to get there, but Dad drives really slow (by really slow I mean the speed limit), so it'll probably only take 45 minutes when I drive. The worst part of the drive is going through a city with curb-side parking, narrow streets, and 4 traffic lights (2 of which you almost always get red).
Anyway, we got there around 10. The test didn't start until 10:30 so we just sat in the car for 15 minutes. Finally we went inside. Dad looked around while I signed in. After Dad left I had to sit in a waiting area with the other people (there were only a handful of us there) until the first group of testers were done.
After we were allowed in, I took a seat at the back of the computer lab. The placement test is done all on the computer. It's a system called COMPASS. There was a writing, reading, and math section. You don't actually write on the writing section; you correct an entire computerized essay (there were 5 of them actually). The reading section was pretty standard; I just had to read a bunch of passages, then answer questions about them. Finally, the math section: There were only 7 questions, each dealing with a different area of math. I probably got 5 of them wrong -_-
The test wasn't for a grade or anything. It's designed to determine what English and math classes to place you in when you go there for school. Hence the name "placement test."
A couple months ago, I posted on Facebook that I had applied to this community college. One of my old best friends, Andrew, said he had also applied there. I figured he would be taking the placement tests today too but when I checked Facebook before we left, he hadn't mentioned anything. He wasn't there when I arrived either, so I just figured he was scheduled at another time. Then, right before we were about to start, he came in. I finished the test before him, so we didn't get to talk. Later he messaged me on Facebook saying, "I was going to say hi to you when we got done but you ran out of there like a speed demon!"
So that was pretty much it.
2 comments:
The people who take a test are being tested. So IMO they should not be called testers but testees. LOL
I learned this 30 or so years ago when, as one of the instructors in an employee training course, I was giving a test to a class, and one of the other instructors asked me, "How are your testees doing?"
-So the next question is whether the results of this placement test could affect acceptance in the course you want to take. I would think that graduation from high school qualifies you for any course in community college.
-Have some mercy on your dad; a minister getting speeding tickets doesn't look good!
-Andrew sounds interesting. bfn - Wayne :)
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