I love taking tests. That little rush of adrenaline. The excitement of seeing questions, neatly punctuated by numbers. The empty space begging for exciting essay answers.
When I was in 10th grade, I was pretty sure my biology teacher wasn’t reading any of our essays, so I once wrote that acne’s onset was directly related to the number of chocolate malts consumed during adolescence.
I got a B.
As an adult, the shoe went on the other foot! I taught a legal investigation class for paralegals at the local junior college. I understood then why essay questions were important…but also recognized that if I’d had any more students, I wouldn’t be able to give each exam the heavy review necessary. Fortunately, there were only 16 students in my class, a very reasonable number to track. Whew! And all my students were clever and insightful. None had to resort to the sort of essay padding I’d done back in biology class!
Not long ago, I got to read and grade more essays…for the G.I.R.L. competition! As part of a group of SOE judges, I had an opportunity to read essays and review art submissions from the finalists.
It’s not a high school class. It’s not a college exam. But it’s still a test…of how well these students were able to read and follow instruction as well as present their artistic skills. A competition that’s the first of its kind offered by SOE and thus a very important task.
To that end, I scrutinized essays. I squinted at art. I pondered level designs. At one point, I consulted with Sam Wood, one of our very awesome concept artists, to find out if I was approaching the artistic review in an artist-minded way. After all, I am not an artist. It was reassuring to learn from Sam that the areas I was questioning were areas that are indeed important from an artistic point of view.
The winner will be announced next week and I’m very pleased to note that this particular candidate was the one to whom I’d give my highest marks after reviewing the submissions. Yay!
And there wasn’t a single reference to chocolate malts, either.
Stay tuned!
