Cultural Observations During Exam Time

It's exam time at the University of Rouen and today I'm proctoring an exam for literature. The exam is four hours long and the students have just settled in for the long arduous task of discussing Macbeth, K. Mansfield, and D. H. Lawrence's Selected Poems. As I sit here watching, I can't help but to ponder the differences in the French and American culture in the classroom.

As someone who isn't very familiar with the customs and academic rituals of the French university level, I'm amazed to see how routine-like the whole exam process is. First of all, the students all wait out in the hallway until the professor (i.e. me) arrives. They are all standing there laughing and chattering away and as soon as I walk into the classroom they follow me and instantly a line is formed with the first student holding out his student ID card, waiting for verification of identity. I barely have a chance to set my belongings down and take off my coat, scarf, and gloves. I take the card, look at the name and picture and allow him to sign next to his name on the list of students I was given before the exam. "Will you be handing out the test now or afterward?” asks the student. Ummmmmmm, afterward? Yes, go with it. "Afterward.", I say confidently. He doesn't question this and seems as if afterward is common. Phew! The next student comes up and the whole process is repeated. They all have similar signatures and I wonder if they learned how to sign their names in grade school like they do in Mexico.

Student: Bonjour (Handing me his/her card)
Me: Bonjour (Taking the card and looking at the name/picture and letting them sign)
Student: Merci
Me: Merci

Now, let's take a moment to talk about their ID card. First of all, it's made out of paper and it's huge! It's folded into four sections with a picture STAPLED to the front page. Being familiar with the French Drivers License, I wasn't all that shocked when I first saw the student ID but I still wonder at them sometimes and I'm amazed these are actually official documents.

As I'm verifying the students' ID cards, the regular professor, Phil Romanski, comes in and we introduce ourselves since we've never met. I wasn't actually supposed to be here but was called in at the last minute due to another professor being ill and a scheduling conflict with Phil. He was double-booked and is teaching another class during the first two hours of the exam. He assures me he will be back in two hours to relieve me and I tell him that’s fine.

In France, the exams take place AFTER the semester and all of the students take the exam at the same time in different subjects. So even though the Fall semester ended on the 17th of December, the students are only now taking their final exams. I'm afraid it's all still a bit unclear for me and even though I'm getting to know the system more and more as time goes by, let me tell you, it's not just a little complicated!

Once all of the students have "checked in", Phil begins to pass out "les copies", the exam booklets, and "le brouillon", the rough draft/scratch paper. Here it's customary to provide the students with exam forms and several blank sheets of paper for notes, rough drafts, etc. The exam forms have a space at the right hand, top corner where the students put their names, student ID number, class, subject matter, and other pertinent information. Once this part is filled out, the corner is then folded down and glued by the student. Yep, the exams are anonymous so that the person correcting it has no idea who the student is. This is to avoid favoritism and or discrimination by the professors. Once all of the exam forms/scratch paper has been distributed, the professor then hands out the actual exam. Ah!! HERE are looks/reactions I'm all too familiar with. There's the "Oh, shit! I didn't study THAT!!" and the classic "Yes! I'm so happy I studied that part! Whoo hooo!!” and my personal favourite, "What the hell?! I've never even HEARD of Macbeth!!!! I'm SO dead."

Another thing I was amazed to see is the fact that every student has a pencil pouch here. At each table, the students ALL have their pencil bag out and set in front of them. Plus, they all have the fundamental/staple materials needed. Pencils, pens, white-out pens, erasers, glue stick, highlighters, and those pens that allow you to write something and erase it with the "magic" end. (Those things are super cool!) Some students even have a ruler to help them underline things and or write in a straight line.

See, there's an art to taking an exam in France. First, the student makes use of the scratch paper to write out an outline or a rough draft. This part is done in pencil with much erasing and scratching things out. This is where the student spends most of his or her exam time. It's not until they have it all figured out and written down on the rough draft paper and they've gone over it and made any necessary changes/corrections that they then transfer it onto the official exam form. This part is done with a fountain pen. Many of the students use these pens that look like calligraphy pens. This last process is very important and the students meticulously write out their exams making use of their white-out/magic erasing pens. Many of them will write out the exam questions using another colored marker and then their answers using black or blue ink. At the end, the exams are very neat and presentable.

I love watching the students during this time. As an avid people watcher, I'm able to observe everything at my leisure and marvel at the apparent habits of the students. Of course there are some things that are universal. The moments of distraction when suddenly the student realizes their fingernails need cleaning, doodling on the scratch paper, and the playing with the hair. Far off looks waiting for inspiration to strike, frequent drinks of water, noses needing to be blown, the pencils that absolutely need sharpening, the clicking/unclicking of pens, etc., etc. There are still the students who seem to know exactly what they are doing. They start writing right away and never seem to stop until they are finished. Then you have the students that seem a bit lost and take lots and lots of time to write their exams with many little breaks in between. And then the students who take a really long time to finish whether or not they know what they are doing or those that finish in record time and are the first to hand in the paper much to the surprise and awe of the rest of the students.

The one thing I've learned as both a student and a teacher is you just never know what the students will produce no matter their style, neatness/sloppiness, and time taken during the exam. As a student you might feel you've blown the exam and then end up with a good grade or vice versa. As a teacher, you'll still be disappointed with some you thought would do great and surprised by some you thought might be in trouble.

In any case, I'd still much rather be the test giver that the test taker and I'm very grateful my test taking days are currently on hold. Hallelujah, AMEN!!