NYSTCE Saturday
I took the NYSTCE on Saturday. It stands for New York State Teacher Certification Examination. I doubled up, taking the Assessment of Teaching Skills- Written (secondary level, and the the Content Specialty- Technology Education. Both are set as 4 hour tests.
The first, (ATS-W) was difficult in that it had a lot of questions designed to trick you, many answers seemed too similar. It was wordy, and some of it felt poorly written. Test taking skills and strategies could really swing your scores; a sign of a poorly developed test IMO. The essay question was a bit vague, but not terrible. Overall it was tough, asking for a bunch of overly specific book knowledge and many questions that seemed too subjective in terms of classroom management. I was not impressed.
Then I ate meat loaf, zucchini in some cheese laden red sauce, mashed potatoes, and a sour roll with butter for lunch.
The CS exam was very different. There was no real solid way to study for it. The test was very broad in scope and hit lightly on a dozen different subject areas. Questions ranged from Communication, to Transportation. There were questions about light construction, electrical wiring, biotech, nuclear submarines (not kidding), aerodynamics, board circuitry, chemical photography, polymers, machining, manufacturing techniques and management, optics... it was all over the place. All very basic stuff. Either you knew it, or you didn't. No tricks, no memorization games, nothing would help you but exposure to the concepts and being able to apply them. It was clean, easy to understand, and if you couldn't do it... that was it. Not more than two or three questions for each major subject area, and nothing you needed to be a specialist to know.
It was a good test. I know I didn't score 100%. I'm totally fine with that. I feel that it will point of out relevant weaknesses in my knowledge base. Unlike the the ATS-W, which is just going to tell me where I need to play school and cram better.
An off-the-street person might have been able to scrap through the CS. An engineer, a tinkerer, anyone who has gotten their hands dirty and pays attention to how the world is made, all might have survived it.
I was pleased. I finished the CT, went over all my answers twice, and wrote 2 drafts of the essay for it. I finished in 65 minutes. The ATS-W took me 3:45 hours.
In other fronts:
Work in VT was good. I didn't get enough of it.
Home life has been challenging. There are some things that are difficult.
My father's health has much improved. I've got no memory of him feeling this good before.
I've dropped about 10 lbs in a good way. Got my definition back in my arms and legs, and my heart health has improved.
Some of my friends are having a really hard time with real life right now. I wish I could do more for them.
I'm looking forward to wearing my armor and engaging in some creative play in the woods this weekend. I need to prep my gear for that.
Grad school is on the horizon. Where is a big question. Going in the spring.
The first, (ATS-W) was difficult in that it had a lot of questions designed to trick you, many answers seemed too similar. It was wordy, and some of it felt poorly written. Test taking skills and strategies could really swing your scores; a sign of a poorly developed test IMO. The essay question was a bit vague, but not terrible. Overall it was tough, asking for a bunch of overly specific book knowledge and many questions that seemed too subjective in terms of classroom management. I was not impressed.
Then I ate meat loaf, zucchini in some cheese laden red sauce, mashed potatoes, and a sour roll with butter for lunch.
The CS exam was very different. There was no real solid way to study for it. The test was very broad in scope and hit lightly on a dozen different subject areas. Questions ranged from Communication, to Transportation. There were questions about light construction, electrical wiring, biotech, nuclear submarines (not kidding), aerodynamics, board circuitry, chemical photography, polymers, machining, manufacturing techniques and management, optics... it was all over the place. All very basic stuff. Either you knew it, or you didn't. No tricks, no memorization games, nothing would help you but exposure to the concepts and being able to apply them. It was clean, easy to understand, and if you couldn't do it... that was it. Not more than two or three questions for each major subject area, and nothing you needed to be a specialist to know.
It was a good test. I know I didn't score 100%. I'm totally fine with that. I feel that it will point of out relevant weaknesses in my knowledge base. Unlike the the ATS-W, which is just going to tell me where I need to play school and cram better.
An off-the-street person might have been able to scrap through the CS. An engineer, a tinkerer, anyone who has gotten their hands dirty and pays attention to how the world is made, all might have survived it.
I was pleased. I finished the CT, went over all my answers twice, and wrote 2 drafts of the essay for it. I finished in 65 minutes. The ATS-W took me 3:45 hours.
In other fronts:
Work in VT was good. I didn't get enough of it.
Home life has been challenging. There are some things that are difficult.
My father's health has much improved. I've got no memory of him feeling this good before.
I've dropped about 10 lbs in a good way. Got my definition back in my arms and legs, and my heart health has improved.
Some of my friends are having a really hard time with real life right now. I wish I could do more for them.
I'm looking forward to wearing my armor and engaging in some creative play in the woods this weekend. I need to prep my gear for that.
Grad school is on the horizon. Where is a big question. Going in the spring.