DSAT today frustrating
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Anonymous
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I'm incredibly frustrated with today's DSAT. My child came out after 12 PM, crying, while other kids had finished their exams and were going home. Despite the exam time being reduced from the paper version, my child came out much later. The reason being, the exam started at 9:30 AM. Although everyone was seated by 8 AM when the school doors closed, they had to wait for over an hour. Why? Because a student hadn't arrived yet. This student, brought in by his mother just before the exam, was announced by the mother to the proctor, in hearing range of the other students, "My child is autistic." The student, wearing red noise-cancelling headphones, entered, and while it's clear that everyone has the right to take the exam, what happened next was problematic. The child kept talking in a high-pitched voice, almost shouting, while the mother whispered to be quiet. The proctor, noting that it was exam time, told the mother to leave (it seemed she thought she could stay during the exam, perhaps to manage her child). Alone, the child not only talked but also stood up and walked around during the exam, speaking in a high-pitched, monotone voice, raising the pitch at the end of sentences. The proctor repeatedly asked the child to sit and be quiet, but the child continued talking non-stop. Is this acceptable? The situation was so disruptive that other students asked the child to be quiet, but to no effect. With DSAT having varied break times for students, some were attempting to focus on their exams while this child loudly declared the need for a snack and continuously talked in a high pitch about various things, including putting their cell phone away. This made it impossible for the others to concentrate. Shouldn't this be complained about? While I agree that everyone, regardless of condition, has the right to take the exam without discrimination, they also have the right to do so under the best conditions. I'm angry at the mother. Knowing her child's behavior best, shouldn't she have requested accommodations for a quieter exam setting? This would have allowed her child to comfortably take the exam and the other children to focus. As it was, the child had to constantly hear reminders to be quiet and sit still, while the other students couldn't concentrate because of the noise and movement. It's really infuriating. |
Anonymous
| Surprised this child was not given accommodations in a separate room. Whole thing seems odd. |
Anonymous
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Isn’t there a special room they put those kids in at most testing centers?
And yes I’d want my $ back and test expunged. |
Anonymous
| Call the college board and so that your child be allowed to retake the test at the next date for free. |
Anonymous
| Your child needs to cut the crap. Crying? Get over it. |
Anonymous
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Everyone had to arrive by 8 but the test didn’t start until 9:30? Was that the time it was supposed to begin or was it delayed waiting for that one kid? If delayed, why should a test be delayed waiting for one kid?
Why wasn’t that kid given accommodations? What was he doing in the same room as everyone else? |
Anonymous
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Op here
It was a very large public school, it was unfamiliar. and the exams were conducted in multiple classrooms.This incident occurred only in the classroom my child was in, with about 20 students. I will be filing a complaint with the College Board, and it's surprising that such an incident happened. It's not just my child who was affected, but all the students in that classroom. I believe many will be filing complaints. However, I really can't understand. How can an exam be managed this way? It's unbelievable. |
Anonymous
OP here: For an hour and a half, kids that classroom sat in the classroom chair doing nothing, unable to use their phone, just sitting there quietly. The exam started at 9:30 AM, and my child texted me after 12 pM saying the exam had just finished. I have never experienced an exam, even paper-based, ending after 12 pM. We chose this distant public school for the DSAT because there were no spots available closer, and it was our first time there, so we didn't know what to expect. How can this kind of proctoring be acceptable? Even if that mother didn't apply for accommodations, couldn't the proctor have used their discretion to move the student to a more comfortable room? None of this makes sense to me, and it's infuriating. |
Anonymous
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I would file a complaint with the college board.
If your description is accurate, this is all very strange and it appears that the testing environment was compromised |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| I’m sorry. That scenario makes no sense and should never have happened. I was under the impression that they don’t hold the test for anyone. If someone is late, they don’t take it. Also, accommodations should have been made so the student in question could have taken the test in a room without others. |
Anonymous
| His accommodations should include a separate room. |
Anonymous
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OP here
I'm more upset about the possibility of having to retake the exam than the money involved. It's truly infuriating. I'm not sure if the College Board pays schools to host the test centers or if there are other benefits, but I believe this school should be removed as a test site. While this may seem minor compared to the issues mentioned above, my child told me they didn't even take out their laptop. The College Board's DSAT preparation materials instruct to have laptops fully charged, and for the PSAT we took at the school, everyone used their own laptops. However, my child said that they were required to use the school's Chromebooks for the exam. Just as a runner wouldn't wear new shoes on the day of a race but would use ones they are accustomed to, it seems unfair to force students who have never used Chromebooks to use them for the exam. I thought maybe this was just something I didn't understand about the public school system. However, after asking around, I found that kids who took the exam at other public schools today were allowed to use their own laptops. It seems this school was the only one enforcing the use of Chromebooks. The more I think about it, the more absurd this test center seems. |
Anonymous
| I’m so sorry this happened for all the kids involved. Very sad to hear it wasn’t handled better. Hugs for your daughter, OP. |
Anonymous
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How stressful for your daughter and all the other students involved OP. I am so sorry and hope you are able to resolve this issue quickly and retake the SAT soon.
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