Thursday, March 5, 2015

Proctoring Packing List

Day 5 of 31 posts for the Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted by the team at Two Writing Teachers, Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth.
Head over to the link up for seconds or to serve up your own slice!

Do you proctor tests in remote locations? Not remote like Aruba or Jamaica. not remote like Skyped-in or proctoring by Google Hangout remote. Remote as in you proctor a test that is not in your own classroom.

Today I did just that and I realized that when proctoring a high-stakes test in a remote location a few things would make proctoring  more comfortable.  We have three testing sessions per day. The tests are scheduled in two hour increments 7:20-9:25, 9:30-11:30, 12:05-2:11 . We are expected to walk the room, not read, not grade, not use the computer, proctor. There isn't time in the schedule to dash out (though our testing coordinator walks the campus and offers to relieve proctors for bathroom and lunch breaks).  Still, as I walked the room and ruminated, I thought about how a well-packed traveler likely has more fun and less stress.

To prepare for future proctoring trips across campus, I give you a packing list.

Proctoring Packing List:

  • rosters on a clip board
  • all testing materials (testing directions and log in information)
  • a white board marker
  • a white board eraser
  • hall passes (one that logs the entire day or purple passes used at school)
  • masking tape (to hang testing signs)
  • a pen 
  • extra pencils and erasers (we had a set of testing pencils but we need more pencils with erasers)
  • 1 box of tissues. (If the  Oak Trees are blooming you might need two.)
  • comfortable shoes (You will stand for much of the six hours and walk the room.)
  • food and water for the day
  • a bag of Starlight peppermints to share
  • Chocolate kisses or Tootsie pops to give students as they leave the test
 After reading Jennifer's post about the joy she found in proctoring this morning, I wished I had purchased some treats (Starlight and Tootsie Pops) for students and or written out notes. That will be a must for our spring testing! 

Wishing everyone safe travels and good proctoring as many of you face PARCC or other assessments this month. 

10 comments:

  1. What a consideration! I remember testing in the old days. Just part of life that we had control of. It was just another day. Ah... the good ole' days that feel better now than they were.
    DigitalBonnie

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  2. I like the idea of proctoring in Aruba or Jamaica so much better! Testing might not be so bad if we could do that huh? That is a lot of testing in one day - wow!

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  3. I'm sending you a virtual hug. You and all others proctoring high stakes tests deserve that and so much more. Our testing starts in April, but I'll get to stay in my room or will assist the counselor in charge, which was my duty last year.

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  4. This is great! I'm proctoring tests, too, and these are perfect tips. I can tell that you care a lot about your test-takers. Sweet!!

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  5. I saw your post title and thought, "Ooh, my world right now! What a fun way to write about a not-fun subject!" And then I got to the end and saw you linked to my post. Thank you! :-) My students loved my notes, and the teachers & administrators who saw them loved them too, and told me so. It was a lot of work, but it made something nice in a not-so-great day, for me and my sweet kids.

    Hang in there -- you can do it! :-) And now you have an even better plan for the next round! (Ugh, the next round... shudder...)

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  6. I would also prescribe post-its to number seats to making seating assignments numbered and my 6 hour proctoring get in shape routine! Guaranteed to make your walks around the room high intensity! I will be selling this workout program to teachers everywhere! I hope to make a profit from testing somehow too!

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    1. Oh yes, the shape up routine! I did strike a warrior pose every now and again. The lap tops are numbered in the lab where I proctored and I put a map of the numbers on the white board so that students can easily find their spot. There were random number post its in a variety of the testing "booths" but they did not align to the computer numbers.

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  7. Bless you! Proctors save us teachers, that's for sure! Jennifer Sniadecki

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    1. Oh thanks, here teachers proctor too. It seems we have so many tests that everyone has to pitch in.

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  8. This is not so different from my "training in remote areas" packing list. I don't need the hall passes, but I think I'll add the mints. :)

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