I was sitting in the back of my dad's silver Mazda, Dad and Mom in the front, rolling down the tree and lake lined highways leading to Prince Edward Island. It was eight o'clock Monday morning, and we'd already been on the road for an hour and a half. I was sucking Lifesavers Wint-o-Green mints and attempting to drink a coffee-stained thermos of vanilla rooibus tea. There were chocolate chip granola bars in my purse and a million things going through my mind. It was the day of my first exam, or more precisely my first "Anne Shirley exam."
Okay, let me explain: They're not really called "Anne Shirley exams." They're called CLEPs - College Level Examination Programs. These are the standardized tests I'm taking that earn me college credit. These must be taken in a registered CLEP Testing Centre, and the closest one to us is in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. But instead of calling them "CLEPs," I prefer "Anne Shirley exams." And if you know Anne of Green Gables you'll totally get this. To take her teacher exam, Anne had to leave Green Gables and go to Charlottetown to write her test. And I have to leave Halifax to go to Charlottetown to write my tests - just like Anne! And since I love Anne of Green Gables, you may see why I'm excited!
Monday was my very first exam, and that's why we were up at six o'clock to leave Halifax by six-thirty. It was a long drive, but the weather was beautiful. We listened to two sermons - one by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones on the beginning of Genesis and one by Voddie Baucham on Revelation 3:14-22. We stopped twice - once for coffee and once for gas. Our drive was just under four hours (we hit a bit of construction), and though my exam was scheduled for eleven, we got there at ten-thirty.
The "testing centre" was pretty interesting. It was situated in the small, single-building Maritime Christian College (which I'd never heard of before), right across the street from the bustling University of Prince Edward Island campus. MCC is not affiliated with CLEPs in any way; it just hosts them there. Despite arriving early, I was ushered by Ben, the academic advisor of MCC and head of the CLEP Testing Centre there, into my exam right away. First, I was led downstairs into a slightly creepy basement and then into a very tiny library. It was hardly a library - just a mid-sized room with a couple of shelves of books. And then there was a small, stubby desk, a creaking swivel chair and one clunky, ancient computer. This was my testing centre.
My exam was Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, and I was more than a bit nervous. Ben was also nervous - for me. (Luckily I only clued into this afterward when he mentioned how nervous he gets for the people taking the exams.) My exam was seventy-eight multiple-choice questions and I had just ninety-seven minutes to complete it. Why those amounts, I have no idea. It covered areas of prose, poetry and drama, from Classical and Pre-Renaissance times all the way up to the Twenty-First Century. I was given a section of literature and asked different questions about it, analyzing and interpreting it.
As I tested, students were in and out of the library, making it a less than peaceful place. I tried not to let it bother me though and with many prayers worked patiently away at the exam. Meanwhile, upstairs, unbeknownst to me, Mom and Dad were waiting in the lobby when the receptionist got a very interesting call. The person on this call wanted to shut off the power at the college. All the power. At first the receptionist gave them a ready okay, and Mom was getting ready to jump in when the receptionist realized, "Oh, wait! We have someone taking a CLEP exam downstairs! If we cut off the power, she'll lose everything." And I would have. So they didn't. Thankfully I wasn't aware of any of this as I tested. If I was, I may have started freaking out just a little bit - or a lot.
Finally I finished the exam with lots of time to spare and, after answering a few of the College Board's silly survey questions, they gave me my grade immediately. And I got an A! Now, CLEP grades are a little different than normal grades. A normal percentage is out of one hundred, but not so with CLEPs. These are out of eighty, eighty being the highest score you can get and twenty being the lowest. And I got a 75. So I think that translates to about a 94%. Which I was thrilled with! Even Ben congratulated me on getting such a great score! Mom, Dad and I went out for a celebratory lunch after (which included a delicious hamburger and raspberry cordial and then some ice cream from Cow's Creamery). And we may have stopped by the Anne of Green Gables Chocolate Store - but only to buy a chocolate lollipop for Travis.
And now, after a dozen giant exhales, I'm kicking back, getting ready for our family vacation next week and starting the preliminary prepping for my next two CLEPs, Western Civilization I and Western Civilization II. I now officially have nine college credits under my belt and am over halfway done my "first semester." I thank the Lord for His goodness and graciousness and glorious sovereignty. And even if I had failed Analyzing & Interpreting Literature, I know that that would have been the best for my good and, more importantly, His glory and so I praise Him for His omniscience. But I thank Him for His blessing and am so excited that He has given me this special opportunity to take these "Anne Shirley exams"!