Test today am I overreacting?

[enfermeratobe]

We had our first exam about a day ago and we do all our exams online. I got

to class and we were told to open up our computers and start the exam more than 1/2 the students exams didn't start or were freezing up mine had started perfectly fine we have a timer for one hour to complete the exam. I started my exam and more and more people couldn't login. People started raising there hands talking to the teacher , whispering to each other and talking the teacher stopped the class and sent the ones who's didn't work outside the classroom. Then came all the noise of people coming out the classroom and coming back in. People

in the hall were laughing and talking and talking continued in the room. It finally got quiet for about ten minutes and then students test crashed halfway through the exam they started talking again they then got up and left the classroom to be able to come back in and test later. Meanwhile the clock is still ticking for my test. I finished frustrated annoyed had to read the questions over and over again the students who's didn't work got to take it the next class. I am mad because I didn't do as well as I know I could have due to all the noise and hustle and bustle my other concerns is students got to finish their test after it disconnected halfway through so who is to say that they didn't look up answers while in the hall I also found out that some peoples online test highlighted what could have been the answers. I talked to the teachers about this and it was not talked about and nothing was fixed I am thinking about talking to the dean am I overreacting or do I have a right to be upset? Thank you for listening to me vent

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the General Nursing Student forum.

[Sour Lemon]

That sounds frustrating, but I don't think I'd be looking to call attention to myself by pushing the issue ...especially right out of the gate. And while distractions can have some effect, they usually won't turn a passing grade into a failing one. Likewise, an ideal test environment won't create a perfect score if you don't know the material.

If this was a final exam and you were less than 1% away from passing the semester, it might be worth pursuing. Otherwise, I don't think it is.

[enfermeratobe]

Thank you our tests are worth 90% of our grade so it's very frustrating and the fact that students got to see the questions on the exam and then allowed to come back in and finish it just really bug me

[Sour Lemon]

Thank you our tests are worth 90% of our grade so it's very frustrating and the fact that students got to see the questions on the exam and then allowed to come back in and finish it just really bug me

I understand, but I think I'd just try to be happy for whatever small break they may have gotten. Another student seeing a question in advance won't affect your own test ...and skating by exams in school won't help a graduate nurse pass NCLEX. Shrug it off and look forward.

[vanilla bean]

I think you have the "right" to be upset by the less than ideal testing environment/situation. But I also think you need to get over it and move on without pursuing it with teachers or up the chain of command to the dean. I agree with Sour Lemon that calling attention to yourself in this way so early on could be a mistake and may follow you throughout your program. Is that "fair?" No. Was the testing situation "fair?" No. But life rarely is.

Try to look at it a different way: when you become a nurse, you will rarely get to complete a task without interruptions and distractions. You must learn to focus your attention on the task at hand while simultaneously multi tasking and filtering out unnecessary noise/disruptions. Use these unfortunate nursing school situations as a way to hone those skills for later.

Take a deep breath, shake it off, and start each day fresh. Good luck.

[gypsierose]

I would say something. The instructor should provide a good test taking environment. I dread our first online, in class test. Every class we struggle with the IT and its definitely a chatty group. Thanks for the tip- I'll bring earplugs.

[enfermeratobe]

Thank you I understand the not calling attention to yourself but this is third semester and I have had no issues so far with anything and yes I know distractions in the real world do happen and that I understand but when others get a quiet testing environment with no distractions and I get a hectic one where I can't even read the questions it really irritates me our exams are worth 90% of our grade this semester so it's hard to ignore the fact that this did not ease my

stress level to say the least I do have anxiety issues and this did not help unfortunately

[renardeau, BSN, RN]

I get the feeling of injustice---that would annoy me too---but unless your tests are graded on a curve, the fact that other students got an unfair advantage doesn't affect your own grade. What would you want to come of you bringing such an issue up? A few points added to your test? A do-over for every test taker? I'm not trying to give you attitude (not sure how tone is read on the internet all the time), just genuinely curious.

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

Sounds to me as if the OP has already decided on what she will do about this issue. Several posters have advised to let it go. What someone else does with his/her exam should have no influence over one's own exam. The noise level definitely interferes with the testing experience of a lot of students. However, whether or not other students had an opportunity to look up the answers while out in the hall is irrelevant unless this was some sort of group-effort competition, which it is not.

If you passed your exam, be proud of accomplishing such a feat under less-than-stellar 'working' conditions. If you are determined to take this to the dean, do it. But don't be surprised if your 'reputation' precedes you into next semester. I believe this is what the others are trying to say to you. Fair or not, sometimes to you have to play the game to get to where you want and need to be, and (as the song goes), sometimes you have to lose to win the game.