Test #2

Previously, I blogged about a total test failure in my opinion. Following that I mentioned that I ended up actually got a 38/50 which is about a C range depending on the class and curve.

Today, we got the 2nd test back.

Let me first tell you how hard these test can be. We had covered 6 chapters total. Totaling 307 pages and only 5 questions on the test. All short essay format.

I had used the lessons I had learned about needing to be faster. Also I started with the questions that were worth the most points first as they had priority for extra time.

I actually finished the 2nd test, which was a major relief after not being able to finish the first one. I felt confident that I had done better. Yet, the score was only a 41.5/50.While I was a bit disappointed still as I expect very high scores. But as the teacher talked I realized that the majority of the scores had gone down in the class while mine had gone up. The teacher mentioned anyone who did above 40 on this test did really well.

I left the class thinking, ok, well I still could have done better. Then my classmates began seek me out to see how I had done. I told them my score and that I had only done 3.5 points better with a shrug. I felt this was only marginally better, until I started to hear my classmates stories. It seems every person I talked to had done worse and in some cases significantly worse.

I took the lessons I learned from my personal failure (The C test) and raised my own bar. While I only got a low B, the difference was major compared to the majority of my classmates. This made me feel good, as I knew that I could bounce back from failure.

It has often been said, it's important to fail early, and fail often.

Failure truly is a negative concept in our society, but yet it gives us our greatest growth moment as people. That is of course assuming you have the drive to dust yourself off and move forward.