The University has many buildings detested, despised and made fun of by students. It’s well known that Lockett Hall is the center of it because it’s always a dreadful imposition of a place to have a class scheduled. On the other side of the quad there’s Himes Hall, a basement full of anxiety, failed tests and the source of many tears.
Himes Hall, the on-campus testing center, is never a place a student wants to find themselves. As convenient as it is to schedule your own testing date and time, from a selection of time and dates the teacher provides, the negatives outweigh any benefits or conveniences that Himes Hall may provide.
The infrastructure is something most students would agree is a big failure. It’s rows of endless computer desks, dank lighting and a general cramped feeling that creates a negative environment. It’s been proven that different lighting, room temperature and the arrangement of a room can affect a student’s performance. Author Derick Kiger conducted a study in a Wisconsin high school, testing whether smaller classroom settings or larger arena testing settings led to higher scores. He found on average, the students in smaller, more intimate setting produced higher scores than their counterparts. If high schoolers are offered the luxury of their administration caring about their test grades, shown by the fact they are inquiring about different effects on testing in an effort to improve score, then our administration should show that same concern — especially considering the amount of tuition we pay.
To get to your assigned testing computer, you have to uncomfortably walk through several students, down a narrow pathway. Then, once you’ve reached your aisle, you have to fumble behind everyone else while they’re testing until you finally reach your station. For students suffering from social and testing anxiety, it seems nearly impossible to enter Himes with a clear mind or any remembrance of the materials you’ve been studying for the previous 48-72 hours prior — it’s a nightmare.
A more casual setting could be beneficial to test takers. It’s great there are accommodations through disability services for extreme cases, but not everyone qualifies for those services and those who don’t shouldn’t have to suffer because of it. Everyone that tests in Himes Hall should have the same opportunity to do well. When you walk into the testing center you should be concerned with the test you’re there to take, not anxious about the atrocious environment you’ll have to deal with.
Jordan Miller is a 21-year-old elementary education junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.
