With the PLAN test, taken by sophomores on Oct. 1, come and past, many, including me, have wondered whether or not it was worth the half-day of work. The test itself felt like it was long and drawn out, and I was tempted many times to not try and just answer every question “A.” But, the overall importance of the test made me decide to continue to try to complete it correctly.

The PLAN had many problems and annoyances that happened throughout the testing process. First off, the test had an hour-long wait after it was finished. After finishing the final testing section, the sophomore class was ready to leave the gyms and go get lunch. However, we noticed one small problem. It was only 11 a.m., and the test takers were scheduled to go to third lunch, which started at 11:55 a. m. The testing took about three hours in total, with very short amounts of time to take a very large amount of questions. Also, there was an error in the amount of time that students were told that they would have in the Math section test. Because of this, students thought that they only had 20 minutes when in reality they had 30. This made me rush throughout the entire section, and then rush again once the time was extended so that I could double check my work. The fact that these times were so short and that the testing was followed by an hour of doing nothing but sitting in the back gyms annoyed many of the sophomores. But, this annoyance shouldn’t be a reason to stop taking the test seriously.

The test was long, it was hard and there was too little time, but these things shouldn’t be taken as excuses to stop trying. Though it was annoying how we had an extra hour at the end, and that the timing was wrong, the PLAN helps students figure what they should do with their future, with suggestions on what careers a student should pursue, and what all scholarships a student could get for college. Though it seems like a long stupid process and a waste of time, it can really help you perceive what you can do in your future. It also helped me relize what I thought I knew and what I actually knew, and what I needed to work harder on to get a better grade. All in all, it seemed like a horrible test that we shouldn’t have taken, but to some, like me, it is nothing but the opposite.