Testing.

Testing. 1, 2, 3.

No, I'm actually talking about school tests, specifically ones in a class for a grade. At my school, there's two types of tests. You can take them in class, and you're timed, and limited to only the length of the class period. And there's a testing center on campus.

They both are kind of yucky. The in class tests are, obviously, timed. They can be really annoying and stressful, but I don't find them particularly so. I'm fast. That doesn't mean I'm smarter than you are, but I'm darn fast at taking tests in class. If I'm not one of the first three people done, then there's something wrong, and I'm stuck somewhere.

In the testing center, there's no time limit. I generally find this to be a bad thing, as it means that the teachers feel that they can just put everything on the test, because you can't run out of time to take the test. This can lead to much longer tests. Yes, they're harder too, but that's cool by me. I love me a good challenge, and I have yet to meet a test that's too hard.

The testing center has some bleh restrictions, though. For one, you can't use the restroom. It makes sense, but it's still annoying when you're in there for hours on end. Also, no cell phones, food/drinks, and if you're taking a test that allows a calculator, you aren't allowed to bring the cover in.

The restrictions make me sad. I'm in school for one reason. I want to get a degree, so that I can get a job. And to do my job correctly, I have to know what I'm doing. That means that, if I'm taking a class, I want to learn the material in the class. I also just love learning. Yes, I'm weird like that. But it means that I'm not the kind of person to be cheating, and so I find the restrictions unnecessarily sad, and resent the people who do cheat, the people that the restrictions are written for.

It also makes it a nuisance to take a long test. Among other things, I get headaches when I'm dehydrated. But I can't stock up and drink before I go in, because if I need to go, I have to leave the testing center, and then I'm done with the test, no matter where on it I was. Nor can I bring in anything to sip on. So I just really hope that I don't get a headache, basically.

My campus also has the smallest testing center of any campus. I took a math test yesterday, and I had to wait an hour and a half to get in, through the line. It then took me about an hour and twenty minutes to actually take the test.

The teacher had told us to allot 3-4 hours, and because it was my first test in the class, I was trying to be smart and allow that much time. I'm so glad I was able to take it about as quickly as I usually do, because, while there's no time limit, the testing center closes after a certain time. And with the line, by the time I got in, I didn't have a full 4 hours left.

Moral of the story. Get good at taking tests so you don't have to worry about this stuff. And please, please, please. Don't invent another method of cheating. I don't want to have to, you know, take tests in my underwear because of you.