This post became a little more than I had originally planned...
December 1st was a Sunday and the last day of my Thanksgiving break. I woke up earlier than I normally do for school, bought an amazing Dunkin' Donuts caramel latte, and drove over an hour to take a certification test (actually 2 tests in 1). In those moments, driving and sipping my coffee, I asked myself if this was really what I wanted to do. Did I really want to add a Special Ed certification to my certificate? Don't get me wrong, I love my job as a Special Ed parapro, but I still want my own general ed classroom someday. I didn't want adding on to then limit my options and my chances.
Honestly, I was also asking myself how I would handle it if I didn't pass this test. I was a little freaked out. I had borrowed a study guide book from a colleague and studied for a month, but the post-test in that book scared the crap out of me! It was nothing like the pre-test or the rest of the book and I got a lot of it wrong. The post-test mostly consisted of "all of the following EXCEPT," "which is NOT," and "LEAST likely" type questions. I apparently don't do well with those...
Anyway...I arrived at the testing center. After walking around in the cold with a couple other people searching for the door, I had to sign my life away (at least that's how they made it feel), lock my things in a locker, and be searched. We're talking pull up the pants legs, pull out the pockets, roll up the sleeves, and they used a paddle wand detector...Then I was escorted to my cubicle. I sat there listening to people type away on the keyboards and began to stress out. I had 4 hours to complete the test (2 hours for each test portion). I spent about an hour on each section and exited my test. I felt good about it. As I walked out of the testing room after only 2 hours the lady looked at me like I was insane. She said, "Well good luck. That's the fastest anyone has ever finished a test since I've worked here." And good feeling gone...
So I drove home wondering what the numbers that popped up on the screen after my test would mean for my score. For 26 days, I stressed over whether or not I had passed the test. My heart stopped when the email popped up on my screen. I had a pit in my stomach as the scores loaded. I'll admit, I covered my eyes at first because I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. I looked and...I PASSED!!! I actually did very well. I was quite pleased!
Then I let it sink in. I'm now certified in both Early Childhood Ed and Special Ed. I'm actually quite excited for what this could mean for next year.
