Last Monday I had my very first test in Sweden! It was nerve-wrecking because I didn’t know what to expect! Plus, it was my first test in English so that kicked it up another notch. Now with all the stress gone, I thought it could be interesting for you to know a bit about the test-taking experience at SLU.
Unlike my other test experiences, where I just needed to show up in the right place and time, the first thing I needed to do here was to sign up for the test through my student account. Personally, I think is kind of odd to have to sign up for a test that you anyways need to take in order to pass your course, but it seems that it is quite common here. Also, the consequence of not signing up is that you are not allowed to take the test! So… Make sure you do that!
Come judgement-day, the first thing I noticed when I entered the lecture room was that there were several blue sheets marking the seats where we were allowed to seat for the test. Once we picked a seat, we were asked to move all our belongings (bags, coats, scarfs, etc.) to a corner of the classroom, turn off our cell phones, and to just take whatever was really necessary for the test and an ID. When everybody was done putting aside their belongings, we finally received the tests.
As a side note, another thing that surprised me is that our teacher wasn’t the one in charge during the test, but two other people that aren’t related to our course – I think they were from administration but I am not entirely sure. Of course, our teacher made some rounds in case we had questions, but she wasn’t there the entire time.
Also, as a security measure, here in Sweden teachers are not allowed to know whose test they are grading, and due to this they have a special code system. Each of the test that were handed in had a number on the top right corner, and that number was our test code and we were supposed to write it down on each test page instead of our name. Once we were done with the test, before leaving, we had to write our test code on a list, sign it, and show our ID. This was for the teacher to know whose test is whose once she is done grading them.
In general, I thought this experience was very interesting. It was full of firsts! First time taking a test in a foreign country, first test in English, and also the first time I saw this level of security for a test! Even for going to the restroom you needed to sign a list and be accompanied by one of the administrators! So even if it was stressful it feels like I now understand a bit more about how tests are done at SLU, and what I can expect next time around.
Hope you found this post interesting and don’t forget to leave a comment!
Have a lovely day,
Anna