Incident at Berkeley, CA

[CaliRx]

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I took the pcat today at UCB. We had a 15 minute break in between and upon returning this girl goes to the proctor with some kind of energy drink in her hand. She asks him if she can drink that during the exam (I was sitting in the first row so I could clearly hear the conversation between them). He says, that shouldn't be a problem, just don't drink it too often because that will disturb other people. 😱 All morning and during the exam I was craving for caffeine. So, I could have walked in to the exam with a coffee and that would have been fine!! I thought there were rules against food during the exam and she can have an energy drink!!😡

Another thing happened towards the end of the exam. I accidentally started bubbling in the answers to the reading comp in the math section of the answer sheet. At the end of the section, I went to the proctor and told him the situation. I told him to give me a minute to transfer these answers to the correct section of the answer sheet or if he would do it for me, if he thinks I'll change my answers. He handed me a new scantron and said, do the math section on this. So now Harcourt has two answer sheets with my name on it. He said they will have to hand-score my exam. Has anyone been in this situation before?

Any feedback welcome!

 

[omnione]

There is a rule against food and drinks. So you shouldn't fault yourself for following the rules. 😉

As for the second situation, I'd pay careful attention to your scores since you are in a weird situation where you have two scantrons and automatic hand scoring. Though I wouldn't expect any trouble, one has to wonder if both sheets get to the scorers.

I would consider this part of the CIB:

If you have any concerns or questions about the manner in which the Test Center, its examiners, or its proctors administered the exam, please email PSE Customer Relations. Your correspondence should include a thorough description of any incident (including the date, type of incident, names of individuals involved, and contact information so Harcourt Assessment may follow up with you if needed) and must be received no later than 14 days following the test date. Failure to contact Harcourt Assessment within 14 days of the test date may result in your request not being honored. Please allow 3 to 4 weeks from the receipt of your email for a response.

This is mainly for any instances of cheating and huge irregularities that adversely affects an examinees score, but this option might be of use to you. It's better to create some documentation of the incident so that you have hard evidence if the unthinkable happens.

 

[Toomeke]

There is a rule against food and drinks. So you shouldn't fault yourself for following the rules. 😉

The rule may be site-specific. At the ASU-West Campus location in Phoenix, we've been allowed food and drink the last 3 exams. This time they did ask us to keep our drinks off the table, but we could still drink throughout the exam.

 

[nerv12345]

oops........i busted out a Monster and took a couple of sips during the break... i was doing in the front row with 3 proctors in front of me


i don't see the problem? with food/drink before/break/after the exam?

 

[Knickerbocker]

During the exam, food and drink can make a considerable amount of noise. In an English class I had over the summer, the girl behind me was always eating chips and drinking. It was noisy in a class where the instructor was always speaking. In a silent testing scenario, it would have been bad.

The exam is supposed to be standardized so that everyone has an equal testing experience.

The official rules say that food and drink aren't allowed in the testing room. Oh, there's also the possibility you could write little notes on your water bottle.

 

[bucket of karma]

some idiot's cell phone went off in my examination room. I was kinda ticked.


and the girl behind me kept pushing her desk up towards the back of my chair, so that I eventually had to tip her desk over on her to get up when the exam was over. ugh.

I don't think either one significantly impacted my score though.

I hope your test gets scored properly!

 

[Knickerbocker]

some idiot's cell phone went off in my examination room. I was kinda ticked.


and the girl behind me kept pushing her desk up towards the back of my chair, so that I eventually had to tip her desk over on her to get up when the exam was over. ugh.

I don't think either one significantly impacted my score though.

I hope your test gets scored properly!

I was lucky to test in a very great environment when I took it in June at Texas Tech's Abilene setup. The proctors did a great job, the place was very quiet, and we had lots of space.

This is from the handbook:

You may not take calculators (including watch calculators), books, papers, highlighters,
rulers, notes, pagers, PDA’s, cellular phones, recording devices, cameras,
headphones, or any other electronic devices or reference materials into the testing
room. If you are found to have violated this policy in any way, your PCAT
scores will be canceled. You will be allowed to write in your Test Booklet.

Hopefully they canceled that person's score and booted them out.

As for the person behind you... I don't know what is wrong with so many people out there.

 

[omnione]

The rule may be site-specific. At the ASU-West Campus location in Phoenix, we've been allowed food and drink the last 3 exams. This time they did ask us to keep our drinks off the table, but we could still drink throughout the exam.

More like proctor specific....😀

However, the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet explicitly states on page 14 that examinees may not bring food and/or water into the testing room:

Test Center Rules
• Neither food nor beverages may be taken into the testing room.

Of course, it's obvious that some proctors don't follow the rules to the letter but people aren't supposed to bring food and drinks into the room.😉

 

[shecanfly]

one of the testers at my location was warned twice for skipping around in different sections and received a very stern scolding during the break. I'm surprised they didn't boot him.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

There is a rule against food and drinks. So you shouldn't fault yourself for following the rules. 😉

The rule may be site-specific. At the ASU-West Campus location in Phoenix, we've been allowed food and drink the last 3 exams. This time they did ask us to keep our drinks off the table, but we could still drink throughout the exam.

Dang it! I knew I should have gone with West and not main. I was dying for water the whole time.