Proficiency test is given to BSU students

Skewed results are inevitable.

By: Ciarra Paulson

It’s 8:00 a.m. on a Friday morning. Presentations are due and must be given today. The entire class is dressed up and shaking with anticipation. As the last of the students shuffle in, the teacher announces, “presentations will be postponed, I’ve volunteered you for a test.” The classroom explodes in confusion and panic. The teacher says, “this test doesn’t count for a grade, it’s just a proficiency test. Just have fun with it.”

This proficiency test is given to freshman and seniors at Bemidji State University. This is to find out if our students at BSU are expanding on their education as they progress in the program. Only about 60 tests are given out total for the year. Half are given to freshman, half are given to seniors. The only benefit to the student for taking the test, is to have a chance to win an Ipad2 through a drawing. The test includes reading, grammar, comprehension, and math.

Students taking a proficiency test at Bemidji State University. 

Barb Hanus, a professor at Bemidji State University in the design technology program, has always volunteered her classes in the past to take this test. She was under the impression that the same test would be given every year like it had been done previously. This year was different. “The test normally takes about 15 minutes. This is the impression I was under. When the tests got to my classroom and they said they were going to take up to an hour, I was shocked,” she said.

Jason Lien, a student in the design technology program, said, “This is stupid, how do they expect us to remember this stuff? We haven’t taken tests like this since high school. It’s been four years since I’ve done any math.” When talking to the other students in that class, that was the general conclusion. They felt it was unfair. Andrea Bodin, another student in the design technology program said, “freshman have just taken these kinds of tests. They are taking writing and math right now for their lib eds [liberal education]. It’s been four years since I’ve taken anything like that.”

Computers in the Mac Lab where Design Technology

students do most of their work. 

The students in Hanus’s class took the test without question and complaints. After the test was given and taken away, Hanus explained, “ I’m sorry for that. I didn’t realize it was going to take an hour to complete it. It’s never been that long in the past. And so you all are aware, I informed the test giver that his findings are going to be skewed. You guys haven’t taken math in years, and probably failed that part of the section. Freshman will probably ace it. Tests prior to this one were nothing like this. I’m sorry.”

Bemidji State University gives out a proficiency test every year. Every year they say they want the seniors to beat the freshman. Is a proficiency test the best way of finding out BSU student’s education levels?