tests and such

i have now taken all the tests i need to take to get my subbing license back in order...i just have to see if i have passed the last section of the PRAXIS.

i am notoriously bad at taking standardized tests. i'm just really really bad at them. the little bubbles, the answers that are so close to being correct, the constant questioning of the answer i chose. the tension of if i don't do this right, i'll not pass this or that.

the first set of tests i had to take were the Nevada School Law, Nevada Constitution, and US Constitution tests. it's not really a good idea to take nevada constitution and US constitution back to back...there are enough things that are similar that, if you're me, it messes you up. so, i passed NV School Law and US Constitution but didn't pass NV constitution the first time through. i rescheduled another test - this time having to do a "special administration" which just means that it costs more money - and i took nv constitution again. i only missed ONE question!! yea me!!!

then it was on to taking the praxis. i bought a book (a big thick book) and studied and studied - generally either while the kids were doing gymnastics or late at night, but study i did. i read all the tips, i read all the reminders of how to do fractions and solve for x and and and all the other stuff that i'd forgotten or wasn't completely confident in.

apparently it paid off. i passed the math section with a 186 (172 is passing, and it looks like 190 is where it tops out?!) and in the reading comprehension section i scored a 184 (174 required). reading comprehension is another tricky place for me - b/c i hardly CARE what would change the author's opinion. why does that matter to me? heh.

i'm waiting for the writing section. 1/2 of that is an essay - usually i'm incredibly confident in my writing skills. this time, not so much. 1/2 hour goes REALLY quickly - especially on a computer that i'm not used to and where i can't see the entire page i've written so i had to keep scrolling. and the statement that i had to write an essay on was not like the sample questions. the sample questions were fairly bland - easy to take and defend one side or the other. this one was, for me, filled with heat. i can't actually tell you what the question was, or i could be tarred and feathered and have to retake the entire thing all over again. but i'm worried about some of the content -- content isn't really supposed to be graded - it shouldn't matter that i'm a bleeding heart liberal in a red county - but who knows.

the other half of that section was looking at sentences and deciding what was wrong (i felt okay about that part) OR taking one phrase of the sentence and finding which of the 5 suggested phrases was the best one to use. perhaps it was because i'd been there for 3 hours by that time, perhaps it was because i hadn't had my coffee that morning (we weren't allowed to bring it into the testing room), but i was questioning EVERYTHING.

so now i have to chew my nails for the next 2 - 3 weeks until i find out how i did. if i didn't pass that part, i have to retake it. bleh.