
Now that we have finished making and breaking some resolutions, it’s time to prepare for the main event: the state exams! Every teacher knows exactly every detail of what is arguably our World Series (with reduced salaries).
It is a serious matter, and I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a first-year teacher in the “Test Security Staff Meeting.”
The enforcers in this game are hard to recognize. They call themselves “‘The Test Security Unit.” I visualize this as “Men In Black” character get-up. I have never seen anyone in our school that resembles the picture in my mind. Or perhaps I just don’t remember because they used the flashy thing to wipe my memory.
Here are a few of the moves one could make to put their certification and employment in grave danger:
- Taking a picture of the test.
- Texting is a federal offense.
- Report anything that might be cheating.
That’s pretty self-explanatory. But today we think of all staff who must proctor testing, since teachers are not allowed to administer these exams by themselves. Makes sense, but some proctors are more helpful than others.
My most annoying proctor experience involved a proctor who did not get the idea that “No talking” meant that she should not be talking to me.
I tried to maneuver to the other side of the classroom, trying to mske sure that kids are not drawing or drooling on the test booklet.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement on the other side of the room It was Miss Proctor, contorting her face. She was trying to over-enunciate so that I would be able to read her silent lips! I never could figure out what the hell she was saying. I’m just grateful that she didn’t break into a whisper yell…
PROCTORS BEWARE\
I can read two phrases in Lip:
F—CK YOU
I LOVE YOU