Most teachers or aspiring teachers have to take a practice exam at some point. I’m working on an early childhood education specialist license at CU-Denver, so I spent the first two weeks of the summer studying for a practice exam and then signed up to take it at home since that seemed easiest.
Well, I was dead wrong. My experience with the practice exam at home can be summed up simply, if not ridiculously: My scores were almost voided for looking at a wall. Thankfully, not only were my scores not voided, but I passed the exam. And – lucky for you – I’m here to explain what it’s like to take the practice exam at home versus going to a testing center like a peer. (Spoiler alert: Go to a testing center if you can.)
Apply the practice at home
As soon as I was able to log into the appropriate site at my exam time, I was messaged by a proctor from Educational Testing Services (ETS) who could see and hear me. He took control of my computer to disable the ability to take screenshots and put it in “do not disturb” mode. For taking notes, I was allowed to use a small whiteboard or a sheet of paper in a clear sheet sleeve with an erasable marker.
Then came the somehow strange video part.
I had to demonstrate that my ears were open and visible and that my forearms were free. Then I had to scan the room. I live in a small condo and my desk is in the living room, so I had to scan my entire kitchen/living room area.
With my desk against the wall, the bathroom door is behind me. The supervisor wanted me to stand with my back to the entry door, so I had to move my desk to make that happen. Thankfully, my desk is small, but I’m not sure what would have happened if I couldn’t physically do that. I also had to use my phone’s camera to show them that there was nothing on, around, or under my desk. At this point, with my desk rotated oddly, I was facing a window with a wall directly to my right – all of which the first supervisor who conducted that initial video screening could see.
When I started the test, everything went smoothly. I was fully engaged until a new proctor came along. Then they interrupted my concentration. They told me I just needed to tilt my computer down a little so they could see better. At some point, after about two hours of staring at the screen, my eyes started to get tired.
At this point I looked to the right for about a second.
Since a third new proctor had joined the team, he apparently didn’t know I was standing next to a wall. When I glanced over, they interrupted me again. They stopped the test and I had to watch the entire video presentation again. I wasn’t happy. In fact, I was pretty angry. I asked them how I was supposed to stare directly at a 13-inch screen for two and a half hours and not look anywhere else when my eyes got tired. Their answer? I made a formal request for a handicap accommodation well before the test date to “rest my eyes.” For the last 30 minutes of the test, I forced myself not to look away from the screen.
A few weeks later, I even received an email expressing concerns from ETS about me “momentarily looking away from the screen while taking the test.”
Since this did not have a significant impact on the demonstration of my skills during the test according to ETS and their proctors, no further action was taken and my results were reported. The whole thing was annoying to say the least. I understand that cheaters exist and these procedures are put in place for a reason. But all the criticism that I had looked away from the screen after the visual video exam was ridiculous. It was not my fault that the proctors changed at least three times and I missed that first part of the exam. I passed, which I found out a few weeks after that email.
A colleague of mine, who also took her practice exam at home, had a similarly disturbing experience. Her first proctor told her there would be a break between sections to go to the bathroom. When the time came, my colleague (who was seven months pregnant!) spent several minutes trying to get the proctor’s attention. At this point, she believes it was the third new proctor who, when he finally responded, told her there was no set break and that she could just go to the bathroom whenever she needed to. In total, my colleague wasted about eight minutes not only trying to get the proctor’s attention but also going to the bathroom, even though she could have just gone whenever she wanted the entire time. Eight minutes wasted during a practice exam is precious, precious time.
Taking the practical test in a test center
Whittney Bartkey, a colleague of mine at a private school in Boulder, Colorado, is working toward the same specialty license as me. She decided to take the test at a center to avoid interruptions. Fortunately, she found numerous options for when and where to take the test and chose a local community college. (She also had concerns about whether her home internet would work properly, which is definitely something to consider.)
On the day of her exam, she arrived 30 minutes early as recommended; however, the building was not yet open. Aside from that minor confusion, the rest of the morning went smoothly. There were clear signs showing where to go, and Bartkey brought only her ID to check in. Lockers were available in case she needed to store anything safely outside of the exam room.
The exam room consisted of about 20 small booths with desktop computers. To get in, Bartkey was frisked with a metal detector. At each computer station, there were two sheets of paper and a pencil for taking notes, which were handed in and thrown away at the end. Bartkey was instructed that if she needed to use the bathroom, she could just walk to the door and someone would check her out and back in. At no point was Bartkey interrupted by a proctor. Overall, she was able to concentrate, understand the parameters of the actual exam, and pass.
“Taking the field test went more smoothly and less stressful than I expected,” says Bartkey. “The in-person environment was great because professionals could take care of some of the details. There was an expert there to take care of any potential challenges.”
So make your choice
If you can’t travel too far to a testing center, don’t worry too much about taking the test at home. Just be prepared for what I described above. However, if you have access to a testing center, you’re more likely to be able to take a hassle-free test.
