Children, listen to your parents

In order to get into grad school and to become certified to teach in Oregon I have to take a number of tests, the CBEST, the ORELA, and the Praxis II. The first two measure basic knowledge such as reading, writing and basic mathematical skills. I usually fare pretty well in reading and writing but since I seem to altogether lack basic mathematical skills I decided to buy test prep book and take a little refresher course before my CBEST on Saturday. (Yes, I am spending 6.5 hours cramming before taking the test. What? Its a valid study strategy!)

So, I spent about an hour and a half going through the book and refreshing my memory on how to do such simple mathematical tasks as add, subtract and divide fractions. Bleck. I have ALWAYS hated fractions. Quite literally since the fourth grade when they were first introduced all the way through the remedial college math classes I had to take. Ugh. Fractions.

*Did I mention there are no calculators allowed on this test? Keep this in mind.*

So, after my refresher course I decided to take one of the two tests included in the back of the book. The good news is that I passed with 82% and the test only requires that you get 60% of the questions right. YAY! The bad news is that, with regard to basic math, habits that I developed in elementary school are still with me.

After I scored my test I decided to go back through the questions that I had answered incorrectly and see what went wrong. I re-worked all the problems and then took notes on what I did incorrectly the first time through.

These are my notes:
-read question carefully
-add carefully
-add carefully
-check work
-work problem backwards
-go with gut instinct
-add/subtract carefully
-add carefully
-read question carefully
-just don't get it
-add/subtract carefully
-just don't get it

Ummm, anyone notice a pattern here? With the exception of the two questions I just plain old don't get, I would have gotten all the questions right if I had just taken the time to add or subtract more carefully. I made stupid mistakes such as 12-3 = 7 and 7 x 7 = 14, or 54 - 19 = 36. It also appears I need to slow down and read the questions very CAREFULLY. Yikes. How many times did I screw up because it told me to select the answer from lowest to highest and I selected the answer that reflected highest to lowest.

So, note to self for Saturday morning's test: SLOW DOWN, READ CAREFULLY, DON'T BE AN ADDITION/SUBTRACTION IDIOT.

Meanwhile, my poor dad is shaking his fist saying "I've been telling you this for years!!!!!!"
Sorry Dad. Turns out I should have been listening.

Still no name for Baby Girl. As I enter the final 12 weeks of this here pregnancy I'm beginning to get a little concerned. What's YOUR favorite girl name? Wait, don't give it to me if you don't want me to steal it.