In other testing snafus, here’s an email we just received:
The Grand Prospect Hall was most recently rented out to the DOE as a testing site. On June 8th, 2013, I joined hundreds of New Yorkers as we took the LAST and CST exams as part of the teacher certification process. What a dismal representation of the DOE. ISSUES: 1. The lighting was more conducive to having dinner and cocktails than testing. Is there a certain level of lighting that should be in place for examinations? 2. The tables were covered in linen: making it virtually impossible to bubble in the Scantrons correctly. 3. The temperature in the room was freezing. ( I didn’t have a thermometer) Had I been dancing the night away in a ”Wedding Reception” the temperature would have been perfect. Instead I was shivering and trembling while trying to concentrate on my exams. Really! Is this a site that the DOE felt was a positive and conducive environment for test taking. Did anyone even visit the site? Talk about selling us out to the lowest bidder. THESE EXAMS ARE NOT FREE! WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPECT AN APPROPRIATE TESTING ENVIRONMENT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE!!!!! THANK YOU, TROUBLED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN