+- Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb)
+-- Forum: Main Category (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-Main-Category)
+--- Forum: General Education-Related Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-General-Education-Related-Discussion)
+--- Thread: I Can't Believe This Happened! (/Thread-I-Can-t-Believe-This-Happened)
I Can't Believe This Happened! - yutzyj - 07-03-2006
i took the ece college writing today at 2:00. i used the My Access writing tool for almost a month to learn to write to the computer grading system. i found this test to be the most difficult exam i have taken so far. this is based on the 8 previous clep tests i have taken and passed. this is a 3 hour exam vs 1.5 hours for clep. i was to be prepared to be at the testing center for 3.5 hours to complete the tutorial before the exam began and then there was supposed to be something after.
begin rant:
no matter how nervous i am when taking a clep test i always settle in after about 5 to 10 minutes and begin to feel better as i answer questions. but with this test you have to be ON for 3 hours! the answers are not there in front of you. writing is not something i do well so this was very stressful for me. i had to go to a different unfamiliar testing center that was farther away. i sat down and the first and only screen was a page on how the writing screen worked. i thought this odd because i was supposed to have up to a 30 minute tutorial for extended response tests. i read the page twice and hit the start button. i wrote to the three prompts like a mad woman and thought i did pretty well. i had about 2 minutes and 48 seconds left and decided to fix my topic sentence of my second response and BOOM.....the prometric screen was there. no warning, no prompt, no nothing but this blue and white screen! also no 15 minute exit questions that i was supposed to answer according to excelsior's documentation. by now it was about 10 to 5 and i was the only one left. i knew i didn't run out of time. i asked the proctor what happened and she said my test was done. i asked her about my score and she said that it still needed to be graded. i told her that it was computer graded and i was to get a score. i explained what happened about the time and she wrote my complaints. the proctor said that she had never run this test before. she did call prometric and they stated that they didn't have my test, that excelsior has it. of course i tried to call excelsior right away but because tomorrow is a holiday no one was there. i can't even call tomorrow because it's a holiday. i hope i don't have to take this again!
end rant
the good news from all this is my husband is taking this test on wednesday morning and he will make sure everything is the way it should be and be prepared for this to happen. our theory is that the proctor had to put in some kind of internet access timer and because the test was 3 hours she entered 3 hours and then i got booted out! i just hope excelsior has my exam. i really don't want to redo this test!
has anyone else had something happen like this? please share.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - snazzlefrag - 07-03-2006
Aaaaw Dawn,
Sorry to hear that you had such a hard time. Try not to worry too much for now. There's nothing you can do until Wednesday anyway.
As long as you answered all the questions, and did a good job on them, I'm sure you will still pass. Two or three extra minutes is not likely to make or break your score. Right?
As far as Excelsior not getting your exam, I think it would be very unlikely. It's all done instantly and electronically. Excelsior probably had your exam in their system within seconds of it ending.
You worked hard to prepare for this exam, and you obviously worked just as hard during the exam. I'm sure everything will turn out fine for you.
Put it out of your mind, enjoy Independence Day, and then you can sort it out on Wednesday.
Best of luck with your score,
Snazzlefrag
I Can't Believe This Happened! - cederic824 - 07-03-2006
I sat for the ECE History of Nazi Germany test Friday June 30, which is an extended response exam.
It was three essay questions. I knew the material backwards and forwards, and allowed myself 1 hr per question. After typing in 3 very long answers, I was nearing the end of my 3 hrs, so I went back and checked by work on last time. Every thing was in order. I then reviewed the checklist, and then forward through the answers to finish the test. When I got to where my 3rd response was suppose to be, IT WAS BLANK.
I was horrified, time was running out, so I could not redo it. By the time I got the Prometric administrator's attention time had expired.
All he said was "That's funny, thats never happened before."
First, there was nothing funny about it, I was physically ill over what had just happened. Second, I seriously doubt I am the first person that this has happened to.
The Prometric test administrator said he would "document" the irregularity, but there was no way for him to verify that my answers were processed correctly or deleted. I did notice that the session was supposedly video taped, so there should be video of me taking the exam, number of keystrokes, type of keystrokes, etc. There also should be some type of evidence of the test on the computer's hard drive.
I am not at all happy with the testing center. There should have been some sort of redundancy to insure those answers would stay where I put them. Also, I was very offended by his "oh well" response to my problem.
The resolution to this problem is a work in progress. I have contacted Excelsior, they have to contact Prometric, etc....etc...etc....
I let you know how it turns out.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - anar579 - 07-03-2006
I didn't have any problems with my all multiple-choice test exam this morning, but it's disturbing to read accounts of these irregularities. You can always go back and click on the multiple-choice answers again very quickly if they're lost, but it's a nightmare to lose written responses, especially when there are time constraints.
Maybe this kind of problem is why Excelsior contracted with another proctoring company beginning in September.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - AKay - 07-03-2006
Im sure excelsior recieved your test.
However they test is not sent instantly in most cases.
It depends on the connection that the testing center uses and how often they run the batches. Usually but not at all places they run the end of day and this sends the results to the test sponsor.
At least this is how it works with my Microsoft testing.
But believe me it would be veryyyy rare that they lost your test as about 75 percent of the time i have been to prometric or vue a system has crashed on me lol and the test is saved.
AKay
I Can't Believe This Happened! - snazzlefrag - 07-03-2006
Wow!
It sounds like this is more than just a freak anomaly. Has anybody else encountered similar problems?
It's a little bit disconcerting to think that this has happened to more than one person.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - Librevore - 07-03-2006
[QUOTE=yutzyj]i took the ece college writing today at 2:00. i used the My Access writing tool for almost a month to learn to write to the computer grading system. i found this test to be the most difficult exam i have taken so far...QUOTE]
Hi Dawn,
I am so sorry. I will be saying a prayer. I am sure that the results can't be just lost! I also am sure that you passed this exam! Let us know as soon as you can.
Librevore
I Can't Believe This Happened! - yutzyj - 07-04-2006
thanks all for your support. as you can see it's 3:45 in the morning. i can't sleep for several reasons. and the lost test isn't helping. i tried counting lost english prompts but that didn't work. and i tried counting the minutes of my test one at a time but that didn't work. hilarious so of course i turned to food, and chocolate. chocolate helps everything or so i tell myself. for now i am putting this little dilemma out of my mind and enjoying the 4th (and my chocolate)! i'll keep you posted.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - yutzyj - 07-04-2006
cederic824 Wrote:I sat for the ECE History of Nazi Germany test Friday June 30, which is an extended response exam.you win. you did top me. how awful!
It was three essay questions. I knew the material backwards and forwards, and allowed myself 1 hr per question. After typing in 3 very long answers, I was nearing the end of my 3 hrs, so I went back and checked by work on last time. Every thing was in order. I then reviewed the checklist, and then forward through the answers to finish the test. When I got to where my 3rd response was suppose to be, IT WAS BLANK.
I was horrified, time was running out, so I could not redo it. By the time I got the Prometric administrator's attention time had expired.
All he said was "That's funny, thats never happened before."
First, there was nothing funny about it, I was physically ill over what had just happened. Second, I seriously doubt I am the first person that this has happened to.
The Prometric test administrator said he would "document" the irregularity, but there was no way for him to verify that my answers were processed correctly or deleted. I did notice that the session was supposedly video taped, so there should be video of me taking the exam, number of keystrokes, type of keystrokes, etc. There also should be some type of evidence of the test on the computer's hard drive.
I am not at all happy with the testing center. There should have been some sort of redundancy to insure those answers would stay where I put them. Also, I was very offended by his "oh well" response to my problem.
The resolution to this problem is a work in progress. I have contacted Excelsior, they have to contact Prometric, etc....etc...etc....
I let you know how it turns out.
I Can't Believe This Happened! - ShotoJuku - 07-04-2006
That's just not right - all that preparation and study only to be hindered by what sounds like a glitch in the system. In fact - it just plain sucks!!
I would however keep the faith until you are able to contact Excelsior tomorrow morning. Until then, try to dismiss it as a CORRECTABLE oversight.
GOOD LUCK!!