There is an ACT exam next week at the school, my guess is she must be proctor for that as well. What upsets us the most is the kids new something wasn’t right and she wouldn’t listen to them. As soon as she let them touch section one after the break many of them just new it wasn’t going to end well and my D said they were all just looking at each other trying to figure out what to do.
As an FYI, not all proctors are teachers. The test center can hire ad-hoc proctors, and the standards bar is set pretty low. - be a HS graduate, not be employed by a test-prep company, speak English, as examples. Additionally, if the proctor’s son took the test today and the proctor had prior access to the test, it’s a conflict of interest, and his score is subject to cancellation.
There is an ACT test on the 8th… would that be an option for you? Maybe if you reached out to them they would waive the late fees.
Don’t know if the son took the test today or not, the mom who proctored the exam is not a teacher that I am aware. The son is in my daughters grade but she didn’t say anything about him being at the exam. ACT is probably not an option as she’s not done any prep for that exam.
Today just isn’t her day, she just texted us and told us someone broke her glasses while at a friends graduation party. They taped them together so she can drive home. Poor kid is probably going to lock herself away in her room for the rest of the night.
I think a nice bowl of ice cream is in order when she gets home!
I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion the proctor is at fault. It’s at least possible that the school gave her the wrong instructions.
My kid took the SAT a LONG time ago. The scheduled date conflicted with a major competition in an academic EC. Lots of immigrant parents told their kids that they had to take the SAT and skip the competition. Realizing that the number of participants would be fewer than half that in previous years and that therefore being “state champ” would be a dubious honor, the event co-ordinators reached out to the College Board, which agreed to schedule an exam just for competitors.
So, it’s possible. I’d contact every parent of every kid you know was in that room and ask them to contact the principal of your school and the College Board to demand a retest within two weeks, so all that prep doesn’t go to waste.
Omg. I would have been livid. I am so sorry. We haven’t had that happen, but our area has had a few cancelled due to flooding or snow. I want to say my older S was affected but he was still youngish (junior) and it didn’t matter. They got to sit free at the next test day. But, one of S’ friends missed going to college because he waited until the last possible testing date to take the SAT for the first time and then it was cancelled. His own fault IMO for waiting. But just wow for y’all. I am so sorry
“Nothing to say, except to offer a refund or a free retest at the next available date”
Should be an “and” not an “or”, IMO.
I’m not jumping to conclusions. The proctor was 100% at fault even if she had the wrong instructions (ACT instead of SAT). When that many kids tell you something is wrong right at the beginning as you are starting with the script, you double check THEN, not after you start the test. We are always told if we have any questions or problems to contact the overseer immediately. I’ve been that overseer at times too.
And the ACT also doesn’t let anyone return to a section after a break.
No jumping to conclusions with either of those incidents as reported on here.
ETA Coordinator is the correct word… Overseer is a “fun/joke” word we use at my school between those of us who do the job.
The front of the booklet clearly identifies the type of test and the day it’s given.
There was no ACT given yesterday; it was an SAT date. If the proctor somehow had the SAT booklet for next week, then I have to believe that someone else in the same school also would have had those instructions and would have noticed-- if the schools even have those booklets already.
As you proctor, you have to account for each numbered test booklet and each answer sheet. It’s abundantly clear that you’re proctoring the SAT. If the directions said something else, it would be obvious each time you read the words “ACT” to a class full of kids taking the SAT.
None of the standardized tests allow you to return to a section after a break. Think about it-- the kids go into a bathroom and share answers? Not allowed; it simply doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, we’re always given the instructions at least a day ahead of time. That’s necessary because they include the need of for a seating chart because we’re not to seat the kids alphabetically-- there’s at least that work to do ahead of time . If you have the wrong booklet, you certainly have the time to realize it.
Sorry, this one is absolutely on the proctor.
As to what can be done-- there’s no great fix for this. They can’t count the scores from yesterday; they’re clearly invalid. So all that can be done is a new test and a refund. Certainly not ideal for the kids, but there’s really no other choice.
Nothing to add from what others have said, but just wanted to say that I hope your daughter is doing better after what sounded like a really terrible day. She won’t see it for a while, but I hope she can look back and reflect on her resilience. Sometimes unfair things happen, and it will speak to her strength once she dusts herself off and rocks the next sitting.
I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut. There are too many possibilities for why this happened. Call me a cynic, but the proctor’s son will be applying to colleges in the fall too. A few possibilities:
1 - this proctor has never proctored before, and was completely inexperienced. Ok, but why would you choose to become a proctor right when your own child is expected to be testing? And why would the school offer the job to the parent of a current Junior?
2 - if this is an experienced proctor, she should have known the procedure, so there has to be an explanation for the behavior. Either there was something wrong with the proctor (hungover? under the influence?). Did she intentionally try to get their scores invalidated, thinking it might help her own son who might be applying to some of the same schools? Sometimes parents do strange things
3 - did she have advance access to testing materials? Again, that would be totally inappropriate if her son was also testing the same day. The school might have thought there was no problem if the son was taking the test elsewhere and they were not aware.
because of these possibilities, I would contact both the superintendent and the College Board.
20/20 hindsight is great, and obviously these students were under stress, so they can’t always be expected to think on their feet. The best course of action would have been to find the site coordinator (or even another adult to relay a message) during that break, once they were told they would be returning to the same section. Not that it would have changed anything once they did return to that section - at that point there was already an irregularity that invalidated their scores - but at least it would have saved them.
The only possible explanation I can think of that makes sense of (only some of) what happened is if the proctor thought she was in charge of the room for students with extra time. But even that room is well scripted - and doesn’t explain the ACT instructions.
When my kids were taking the tests on that date, my being a proctor was not allowed. I’ll admit I haven’t read the rules recently, but I’m thinking that’s still the case?
My daughter took AP tests this year, and I was not allowed to proctor any AP tests (even ones she was not taking). And this was at different schoolsl.
When we had an ACT test get cancelled for weather, I think they did a test the next week. That was for a big area covering most of our state though, not one room at one center. I had 2 kids scheduled to take it, and both had conflicts that next week.
It is, as I said earlier in the thread. But the OP said she does not believe the proctor’s son was taking the test that day.
Yep happened to oldest D taking ACT. Proctor gave them sections in wrong order. Didn’t discover until end. It was at our HS. The coordinator advocated for keeping scores since had correct amount of time and everything but ACT canceled all. They were given free retake. Luckily it was a spring sitting so another test within a month. Not sure we would have bothered if she had to wait several months to retake. And as turned out her ACT score was exactly equivalent to prior SAT so didn’t even matter.
I can’t help but feeling this is all great practice for dealing with the airlines in their future.
OP’s daughter wouldn’t know if he was taking it elsewhere (and call me a cynic, but if he registered elsewhere for that reason, he probably would keep quiet about it).
The testing locations are supposed to provide proper advanced training for the administration of these tests. Plus, the instruction books for the proctors are very clear (at least that used to be the case).
This site could very well lose their spot as a testing center over this…and frankly, that probably needs to happen.
This is irresponsible. Period.