The Test

When I was a young child I remember having many aspirations.  Once I wanted to be a doctor, then a writer, then a singer, then a hairdresser, then a Baker, then a teacher, then a artist, then a interior designer, then a builder, then a psychologist, then a lawyer, then a doctor again.  I guess in a way I have become all of those things, not professionally, but for myself and people I love!  I've always had this "Jack-of-all-trades" vibe going on.  I always thought it was a good thing, being pretty good at a lot of things, rather than just really good at one thing.  Afterall the institution that is college, the higher academics want to turn everyone into a "well rounded" person.  One test made me kind of doubt myself and all of that.

I've always hated tests!  Even the ones that were supposed to help you decide your future!  In the 9th grade I took one of these tests, its purpose was to help you decide what direction to go based on your strengths and interests.  The results even provided you with fancy graphs and pie charts evaluating all of your answers.  I remember the day of the results.  Many were so excited and looking forward to seeing a glimpse of what their future could be.  Excited teens walked the halls at school talking about what their new career plans were, "I'm going to medical school", "I'm going to be an author", "I'm going to be a lawyer", " I'm going to be an artist"!

I got a little excited myself, but when I picked mine up, it was kind of a an unexpected disappointment, and felt a little like a slap in the face! I had yet again failed another test!  You know what it said?  I couldn't believe it!  It said undecided on my career options, it informed me that I had TOO MANY interests.  My many interests sort of made me feel like a LOSER!  It did not even give me any suggestions.  How ironic for a teenager who is supposedly "undecided" about a future to take a test that is supposed to help you decide and it comes up "undecided"!

I was always bad at test taking unless the teacher was clear with certainty about what would be on the test.  Wow!  I even failed the one test that was supposed to help me, the one test I didn't have to study for, insane!  I always wondered about those people that did not study near as much as I did, but still ended up with a high score.  Their explanation, "just a good guesser, I guess".  It was also apparent that they were not the type that would cheat and they were super smart.  With tests like the ACT, you are advised to study "test-taking strategy".  In my mind, if you have to have a strategy, then that makes it completely questionable.  For every question there is a right answer, why don't you just tell people what exactly will be on the test so they know what to study?  It seems that tests not only want to evaluate your knowledge, but also want to see if you can read minds, haha!  Test -taking strategy does not make you smarter and does not help you in the real world!  After having given deep thought about that one test and many others during my education I've come to question the actual relevancy of the whole ritual of test taking, for any reason.  How much do they really help us and how good are they really at giving accurate evaluations of our knowledge and intelligence?  I personally believe they are completely pointless, in most cases.

All of the math and science I was ever tested on has not once been called on to be regurgitated at any one time in order to do my job.  I've heard many people say that they hope their doctor or surgeon passed all of their tests! Haha!  Good point, but the truth is, in reality even if your doctor or surgeon passed all of their exams the important stuff they remember was probably in the labs or rotations, not something on a test.  Chances are they probably forgot a great deal of what was on the test and usually brush up and do continuing education using the internet and other sources and they are not continually tested throughout their career.  I did take one crazy hard test to attain certification to move forward in my career and to get a large raise.  I studied for probably 4 months and when I showed up and started taking the test I was tempted to ask someone if it was the right test, haha!  I got a taste of how difficult it really was.  I failed the first time around.  The second time I barely passed, but passing was getting a 40% or better.  So whether I passed with a 100% or a 40%, I still received the same job title as someone else with a better score.  The test was pointless other than for attaining a certificate.  My job duties did not immediately change, but I had more options now.  Truthfully I don't remember much of the test or what I even studied.  What I do know and remember is what others have taught me and what I do repeatedly on a daily basis while following all standard operating procedures, which are readily available at the click of a mouse.

It's usually through action that we remember more, not testing.  A person either knows their stuff or they don't, but in the real world, life is open book!  I know, I know college is supposed to prepare you for the real world right?  No, it actually doesn't!  In the real world there really is no test taking, at least not the way we know it from college.  If you have a test or quiz at work its usually, always open book.  In college I knew professors that prided themselves on making everything difficult, insisting that if students passed the difficulty they would be smarter and more prepared and even more valuable.  I knew professors that would be on the students' side and give them every chance to pass or give open book tests.  I honestly think that I remember more from the classes where the teacher gave chances and was on your side.

In the difficult classes maybe I studied more, but I then forgot more.  I wasn't learning, I was just memorizing information to pass a test.   I always thought that a much better way to demonstrate what you know would be by giving an oral presentation and looking at the grades from all of your work.  Most of the time we do all of this work and then disregard it when test time comes.  Sometimes we value the one test over all of that work.  How was it that I could get an A on everything all semester, but then fail the final test even after all the studying?  Nerves and anxiety are experts at getting in the way of showing your knowledge or having any true success.

My job is possibly one of the only jobs out there that involves tests.  Clinical testing, that is, this is where bodily fluids are put through a test.  Testing can be a great way to find out information, in a scientific method sense.  Even some tests resulting from the scientific method don't give us accurate information or are a good way to evaluate something.  Passing and failing "tests" is part of my everyday job, I know, even more irony, haha!  Every step of the tests we run are open book.  There are so many intricate factors that go into deciding whether our test passes or fails.  We have many controls and standards to help us evaluate.  Every step of the process has their own bench cards with the detailed process right in front of you.  We do everything we can within our guidelines to help the test pass because the ultimate  goal is to help the patient.  If tests are failing we figure out why and fix it.  Even if one of our tests potentially will fail it is submitted for further review and approval to pass with slightly altered conditions.  The point?  We want to help every step of the way and provide as much information as possible to those performing these tests and evaluating them.

As I sat in a temple session recently I could not stop thinking about how this earth life is a test, but Heavenly Father has provided everything for us to pass and succeed into the next life.  He wants to help us every step of the way!  This life test is completely open book!  The temple is a place of learning and instruction, and I'm always surprised and relieved that these lessons and instructions are repeated over and over again and if I need to ask for help there is always someone close by that can help.  I can go back as many times as I want to receive this instruction, it is remembered through repetition and not by testing.  Maybe the more important thought I had was that Heavenly Father wants us to pass this life "test" so badly that He will always give us chance after chance to choose Him and He will provide any help we need no matter what.  The Atonement is infinite in its capacity and understanding.  It's true though, time will run out and we will all have to decide what we will choose for ourselves.  I'm not sure what the limit is on our chances, that is for God to judge, but in this life there are so many "open books" we can take advantage of as we live through the ultimate "test", LIFE.