A Day of Tests...

Friday, 2nd of March, 2007.

8.00 am - 9.00 am (1 hour)
ITGS SL Paper 1 [40 marks]

10.00 am - 12.00 pm (2 hours)
ITGS SL Paper 2 [60 marks]

3.00 pm - 6.00 pm (3 hours)
ISAT [100 questions]

It was the first day of the 3rd-semester "pre-IRP" test, 6 subjects done in 6 days.

And the most memorable of all is undoubtedly the ISAT. It was almost an intellectually stressful, agonizing torture.

Dedicated to God,
CR 182/200, QR 199/200, OR 191/200
CR 94th %ile, QR 100th %ile, OR 99th %ile

ITGS SL = Information Technology in a Global Society, Standard Level
ISAT = International Student Admissions Test
IRP = Intensive Revision Group


More:
Official ISAT page (ACER website)


The ISAT contains 100 questions, 50 requiring "critical reasoning" (language, prose, literature, etc.), 50 requiring "quantitative reasoning" (numbers, math, counting, science, graphs, etc.). I had a can of Nescafe before the test. Pn Sharifah was at one end of the new class block, wishing all of us luck. About 50 of us sat for the exam. I took a seat next to the left wall, somewhere left-middle, and ensured that the desk was not shaky. I still remember the instructor/administrator getting angry at a few of my friends who were late at the exam hall, saying "This is an exam! You're supposed to be inside 5 minutes earlier!" After the formalities and form-filling, I said my words of prayer, gave my all to God, and began reading the test questions.
They were hard. No doubt. I skipped a few really confusing, language-type questions. It was just around 4.30 when I finished question number 50. And I was speeding. My energy and focus drained quickly. After the first half, I practically had to whisper and vocalize (silently) the questions to make sense of what they were asking. I had just enough time to answer all questions.
I felt a sense of triumph at the end of the test. And sure enough, when the test results came out some 3 months later, I saw the 'triumphant' result. It was a victory. Dedicated to God.