Teacher Certification Test

Today was the big day for me to take my American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) certification test for becoming a teacher. I still have a little ways to go before I graduate and can actually start working but it's getting closer!

I still have the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) test to take and I also still have to complete my student teaching, which I will do in the Spring. I wanted to go ahead and take this test this summer before baby #2 got here and before I ran the risk of too much time passing and forgetting the information I've learned.

My friend, Tandy, from school had already taken the test and had given me all of the inside about the format and what to study. And that was the biggest help! I was confident going into it but still told myself that if I didn't pass, I wasn't going to be too disappointed with myself, because this would be the first time to take a test like this and I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself (even though the test costs $150, which is a lot of money, especially for us right now).

So I studied a little throughout the week but didn't really spend too much time on it until last night. I'd like to tell you that I focus better at the last minute but really I'm just a procrastinator. So I stayed up pretty late reading the main points in each of 8 books, plus study guides. Wow, that's a lot of information. And then finally went to bed.

I didn't get much sleep; it felt like I was up all night. Thankfully, Josh was off work and was able to get up with CeCe so I could sleep in until I had to get ready to go. The test started at noon and I was allowed three hours to complete it. It took me a little over 2 hours to complete it but then I spent a little time going back over the questions so that if I didn't pass, I could look up answers to questions I wasn't sure about and study those more.

Once I was done, I exited the testing room and headed back to the office to await the results. The proctor asked how I thought I did and I told him that I felt like it could go either way. [I don't consider myself to be that well of a test taker so I never feel confident after any test]. The results printed out and he handed me the paper.


I noticed the capitalized letters that said PASS! I was excited but I just said a quick YAY to myself and left the room. I don't think it has really sunk in yet. I mostly feel relieved that I didn't waste the $150 [that we could really use this month], that I don't have to worry about it anymore and I can mark it off of my list, and lastly, that I AM THAT MUCH CLOSER TO FINALLY BEING DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!

This journey has taken much longer than I ever anticipated and I just can't wait until that day comes when I can finally say it's OVER!