Giselle Duell
November 19, 2021 12:49 PM
Test time! [Advanced Divinations] by Giselle Duell
Giselle thought this term was going fine. At least compared to the 'wonderful' ending of break, the world had taken a turn for the worst and now there were more Trevears in it. Honestly she'd never had a big problem with Aunt Mary and Uncle Arthur, but in the time between learning what had actually happened to her parents and going off to Greece with Andrew and Marissa, they had represented what she had lost. She knew she hadn't treated them very well during that time even if she'd been young, stupid and hurt. She'd been hurt a great deal more since then and, with help, was trying to make what amends she could. Unfortunately Jhonice's news had come out and sent her down another spiral of unpleasantness which had set her back a bit. Maybe she could go talk to them over the summer. Maybe.That had nothing to do with school though. Other than Jhonice's news forcing her to think about her own life and future plans. Selina had been very kind and outgoing to get her a job teaching here, but is that what she ultimately wanted to do with her life? Was there anything else for her? Two years ago she would have thought not a chance, but now? Maybe? She just didn't know what. She didn't like not knowing the future.
These were the thoughts swimming about her head as the students began to arrive for her class. Professor Duell was seated at her desk with a stack of papers in front of her. The tables were clear of any sort of equipment or devices. All of the equipment; cards, crystal balls, wax candles, and everything else they had been learning were in their proper locations around the room.
In the previous class the students had taken a test on what they had learned thus far. Something that would hopefully force them to remember all of the things they'd been learning last term and reviewed a bit so far this term. The papers before her were the results of that test, they were not placed at seats as they usually were when the students arrived. She suspected this might bother Anya and her game, but that was fine. It was getting more and more difficult to place the papers in the correct locations as the students learned more, and she was taking that as a good sign.
Once the last of the students were settled. Professor Duell stood in her (by now) traditionally mismatched apparel. "Welcome students," she spoke to them as she rounded the desk. "I'm sure you are all very curious to find out how you did on your examinations last time." She set her hand on the stack of papers, "They are right here. However, despite what I may have led you to believe last time, that exercise was only the preliminary task before the test." She paused just a moment. "Today will be the actual test." With a sweeping gesture she indicated all of the implements of the study of Divination scattered about the room. "Use whichever and however many means you are most comfortable with to tell me as much information about your test results as you can. The overall score, individual questions, comments, and for extra credit the unique symbol I put on each paper."
She smiled at them all in a sweetly mischievous way. "Just as a precaution, there is an age line between my desk and yours. Due to the unique nature of this test, if you find it easier to work with a partner, feel free. Copying their results will not help you. You may begin."
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Giselle Duell
Test time! [Advanced Divinations]
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Anya Delachene
November 26, 2021 1:58 PM
First you gave me a test, now you want test me about the test?! by Anya Delachene
Anya was, as a rule, not a great test taker. Multiple choice weren't terrible, but essays were bad, not so much because she didn't have anything to say about whatever the topic was, but because she had trouble staying on that topic, and often ran out of time writing about things that were only tangentially related to what they were being asked about. And that was when she was focused enough to write words instead of just illustrating her essays.Divinations exams were a bit more open ended, and she tended to score a bit higher on that kind of subjective material than she did in something like, for example, Transfiguration, where there were a specific series of facts that had to be regurgitated for full credit, but how well she scored still varied more by her ability to concentrate on answering the questions than by how much she knew. She still thought she was averaging somewhere around the line between E and O, and she did seem to have some minor talent for the subject, as her practical results were . . . better than random chance suggested they should be.
She walked into the room, expecting to see the exams from last time laid out but they weren't. Drat. Today was not the day that she'd beat this. Grimacing, she went toward the table she had already divined Freddie was likely to sit at, but took the other seat to encourage her friend to take his pre-destined spot instead of stealing his seat to trick Professor Duell's seating predictions.
As the professor explained the day's activity, she groaned slightly, just on principle, but honestly, she figured she'd do a lot better on this practical exam than she had on the written one she was supposed to be divining information about. Based entirely on her own expectations coming out of last class, she anticipated she had scored probably a mid-range E. There had been enough short answers that her meandering style of essay writing shouldn't tank her score, and she had provided words instead of drawings, and what drawings she had added to the margins were relevant to the topic at hand and labeled accordingly to make their significance obvious, so she thought she had probably surpassed an A.
Okay. So. Practical test to find out the results of her written test. She could do this. Looking around the room at the various means of divination set up on their appropriate shelves, she decided to start with tasseomancy, partly because she liked drinking tea. So she fetched a cup and some leaves and the kettle. She warmed up the water and poured it in, thinking about her test and what grade she might have gotten on it. Anya figured the letter grade would be the easiest step to determine, and the minimum expectation to justify passing their current test.
"Want some hot water?" she asked the person sitting with her as she sipped at the tea to get to dregs that would give her the reading. She pushed the kettle closer to them, and then took another sip as she considered her options for delving down into what kind of comments she might have received. ("Not relevant" was one she got back in her other classes quite a lot - though she really didn't see how Professor Wright could ever write that with a straight face no matter how off topic she got - but she didn't think it was a major failing of this particular exam.) She decided her next effort might be crystal balls. Professor Duell seemed to hate them, but Anya actually thought they often provided the clearest answers of any of the different methodologies. Different styles and ways of thinking, probably. And, you know, different abilities to see using one's eyes.
She finished her tea and looked into the remaining leaves at the bottom of the cup. That blob looked vaguely like an elephant. Elephants were smart. They often represented an ability to learn, as well as confidence and removal of obstacles. This was promising and seemed to indicated a good grade at least. It was less clear if that meant she'd gotten an E or O. Did confidence and lack of obstacles mean she had bulled through and pulled out an O, or did the ability to learn merely indicate potential to improve even more which would mean an E? Plus Elephant started with E . . . was that relevant? Oh, over there she had a swirl that looked an awful lot like a lower case e. That seemed pretty self-evident, and it meshed with her own expectation for her grade, so she noted these things down on a fresh piece of parchment:
Tasseomancy: Elephant - confidence, clearing of obstacles, ability to learn; indicates a good grade but with room to improve. The letter 'e' - Got a grade of E. Lower case may indicate being on the lower end of that grade scale. (Which really wasn't unexpected for a written test, even one about divinations - she always relied on her practical results to pull up her grade.)
As an afterthought, she put her name on the top of the page.
"Gonna get a crystal ball," she told her neighbor. "You want one?"
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Anya Delachene
First you gave me a test, now you want test me about the test?!
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