<p>My daughter took the SAT today for the first time. I paid over $1000 for private tutoring and fees for testing. The proctor was late arriving by a few minutes. Then she kept making loud personal phone calls on the classroom phone. Then she began arranging dozens of roses into several vases. She would arrange rocks at the bottom, then add the flowers. Then before the test was over, she told the students how they needed to make sure that their trash was picked up and all paperwork handed in. They were still taking the test at this time. My daughter said she was very distracted with all this going on. She looked up at the proctor and gave her "a look" to maybe let her know she was loud and the woman stopped doing her flower thing for a few minutes but soon resumed. Is there some rule about proctor behavior during the test or should I just tell my that life is full of distractions and she needs to learn to focus? This was such a big test for my daughter (she's a senior)and a big expense for me. I am pretty upset over this. Any comments?</p>
<p>You can try calling up collegeboard.com but unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to lead to anything but an apology on their part. I’m very sorry your daughter’s last SAT turned out this way. But stories like this aren’t uncommon. I have friends who took the SAT with the proctor making phone calls as well.</p>
<p>But that being said, she is a senior and she should have taken it in the past to secure a good score. I will hope for the best for your daughter.</p>
<p>Per the SAT Registration Handbook, page 9
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
fax your complaint to 609-771-7710. Include the name your daughter used when she registered, mailing address, sex, birth date, and registration number; test name, question number if applicable, and date; test center name, number, and address. No word in the handbook about how they’ll fix the problem, and her test scores may be delayed while they investigate. But that proctor should be reported.</p>
<p>IMO, it’s best to pick testing centers in places you know will have good proctors. A good school that has its teachers proctor the exams, or something like that.</p>
<p>Pick a good local university.
not a highschool</p>
<p>My D had a similar experience with the ACT. Poor judgement by the proctor, phone calls during the test, people entering the room, etc. a complaint to the College Board is justified. Test centers can be removed from usage(I believe they make money). My complaint resulted in an offer to either cancel her scores and and offer of a free opportunity to retest. She scored a 35 despite the distractions. a refund wasn’t offered.</p>
<p>By the way, the proper term is “test administrator”. The proctors are the people who monitor the halls and fill in for the administrator when they need a break.</p>
<p>omg get over it, seriously. i’ve taken the test in poor conditions. just block it out… **** happens you have to roll with it, not in it.</p>
<p>sorry, this is probably not the response you were looking for. i don’t mean to be rude but the testing room might ALWAYS be bad. someone might be tapping, sneezing, coughing, eating, snoring, puking(it’s happened)… you HAVE to deal with it. tell your daughter to suck it up next time.</p>
<p>testing conditions are never going to be perfect
like the statement above…there are people who are gonna be sick, chewing gum etc
learn to block out white noise and i don’t really see how arranging flowers would be a big deal…as long as you don’t look up but yuo really shouldn’t cuz the test is on your desk
in most testing centers i’ve been to, there are always people coming in and out
the only problem would be the phone calls which are obnoxious
if you are really troubled…call collegeboard but i don’t really see how scores can be affected too much by distractions anyway…i mean if you’re really focused…you tend to block out all sounds…there prolly will only be a 20-80 point diff</p>
<p>Our proctor was walking around reading people’s essays over their shoulders, and my desk sqeaked every time I put my pencil down on the paper. Those are my only complaints so I’d be angry too if someone was on the phone while I was testing.</p>
<p>I sat next to a air conditioner unit if that makes you feel any better :]</p>
<p>When a person knows that the test is very important for their future, it says a lot about them if they are unable to confront someone who is acting inappropriately.</p>
<p>This is why one shouldn’t wait till the last minute to take the SAT. I do think you should send a complaint in any event, though you are really up a creek for most colleges if your daughter is a senior. Clearly this test administrator was quite unprofessional. However getting your money back won’t do you much good at this point. If your child is easily distracted by noise they should probably bring earplugs.</p>
<p>Although earplugs aren’t allowed. 
I remember my proctor saying that when she read the rules lol</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure it was all unintentional and reporting the test proctor will possibly hurt someone who’s just a volunteer!</p>
<p>I hope that your daughter will make a good score on the test.</p>
<p>The test administrator/proctor’s behavior, particularly making personal phone calls. was unprofessional and I would not hesitate to report her.</p>
<p>Definitely report. If that does not do anything for you, future takers will be in better conditions thanks to your efforts. Proctors (or whatever they should be called) are not volunteers - they are being paid by the hour.</p>
<p>As far as an advice “Pick a good local university. not a highschool”, people sometimes complain about chairs with little tiny fold up desks they have to use when a testing center is in a college.</p>
<p>I am kinda districted pretty easily so i have methods</p>
<p>on her next test i would suggest bringing ear plugs. even the cheap like foam ones are really good for blocking out the annoying sniffling, coughing, tapping, and movements in the rooom. </p>
<p>believe me!!
it works really well and then those things wont bother her</p>
<p>Ear plugs are not allowed (I guess, they might turn to be Bluetooth radios). o.o</p>
<p>At our school the proctors & test administrators are definitely not volunteers - they are paid. And ieven if they are volunteers, there is a reasonable expectation that they should follow proper rules & procedures.</p>