Excessive noise at a Prometric Test Center

[delphynium]

Dear all,

I took my exam yesterday in Homewood, IL Prometric Test Center. The building there is under construction - there is a ceiling, but there is no roof i.e. the roof is being repaired. Exactly at the 30min of the second block of questions, someone started CUTTING METAL! I put the headphones on, but they were not enough. I raised my hand and asked the Prometric supervisor, when she came, to please, ask them to stop. She answered: "No, I can not do this. Use your headphones." I was already using the headphones, but the noise was excessive and since it was on and off all the time, you couldn't ignore it as a background noise. After the end of the 2nd block three USMLE step takers including myself, went on a break and asked the Prometric test supervisor what can be done. She was very unresponsive. She did not take any action. She informed us that there are no earplugs at the test center - only the headphones. I went outside of the building and started talking to the construction guys begging them not to cut the metal pipes which they were cutting. As the construction workers informed me - there is no roof on the building, that's why the noise is going inside. They told me to talk with their supervisor - I went and talked with the construction workers' manager and he gave me earplugs and promised that they will not cut any more metal pipes, until 5pm at least. I went inside and continues with the test - wearing both the earplugs and the headphones. There was no more noise coming from the roof ( it really felt like someone is cutting something on the roof). I was happy that I managed to resolve the situation, but I wasted half an hour of break time running around the building talking with construction people. Of course I was quite tired towards the last one block, since I hardly had any break time left from the only half and hour.
At the end of the test day I talked with the next person i.e. the afternoon shift in Prometric about what happened. He told me "But it was only for 5 minutes" - which is a lie - it was for a whole half-an-hour during the second block of questions. He told me that the only time they have had stopped working during the construction was for two days of JACK-HAMMERING! So is any other noise besides a jack hammering OK to take your exam? Why should it be my responsibility to go around talking with construction people while my test time is running? Why did nobody else at Prometric do something about the situation.

Today I called the Thompson Prometric Test Center and filed a report about what happened. Thompson Prometric told me that it was NOT their fault - it's the fault of the landlord of the building, because Prometric is just renting space from the landlord. They also told me that if the test delivery conditions were not right and the noise is excessive - I should have stopped taking the test. The person on the phone , who was extremely unfriendly and aggressively defended the Prometric test center, told me to call now USMLE because they are my certifying agent and Prometric is only delivering the software and the landlord is responsible for the testing conditions and it's my fault that I have continued taking the exam and not stop.

What kind of test administration is this? We study for months ( if not counting the years in Medical School) for these exams, we pay $600 to take one and at the end you can not even be sure, that there will not be METAL PIPE CUTTING going on. If you see construction around your test center - please, make sure you go and talk with the Construction's manager before your test, otherwise you'll be loosing time from your exam. I don't have any other advice to give you.

I personally think this is ridiculous!

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[deleted113029]

whoa! so many words!

I think that's why they suggest you take a look at the testing center before the exam. Sucks that that happened.

 

[superoxide]

Sorry, but i'm going to have to side with prometric on this one. This is not under their control. The prometric center where I took my test was on the second floor of a building which was right on a 6 lane road in a city of 5 million. The computer which I was assigned was right at the window, so I could hear cars, trucks, police sirens, fire engines, honks etc etc. What do you expect prometric to do? Stop traffic? Now if the construction was happening AT the prometric center, then you have a case. You can't stop something like construction on a building just because you're taking a test.

 

[delphynium]

In fact I was also hearing the traffic from the nearby Halstead Ave, but it wasn't as bad as the metal pipe cutting. Also they were working in front of the door of the prometric test center and they continued to work throughout the day - putting bricks on the columns of the building and on the facade, but at least not metal pipe cutting! And yes, the construction was going on on the actual building. There are metal poles supporting the whole building and a big sign saying :"Prometric Test Center - Open during Construction." This was the only open spot left in Chicago before Christmas to take the exam, otherwise I live downtown - wouldn't have bothered to go an hour south to take it.

 

[superoxide]

In fact I was also hearing the traffic from the nearby Halstead Ave, but it wasn't as bad as the metal pipe cutting. Also they were working in front of the door of the prometric test center and they continued to work throughout the day - putting bricks on the columns of the building and on the facade, but at least not metal pipe cutting! And yes, the construction was going on on the actual building. There are metal poles supporting the whole building and a big sign saying :"Prometric Test Center - Open during Construction." This was the only open spot left in Chicago before Christmas to take the exam, otherwise I live downtown - wouldn't have bothered to go an hour south to take it.

I agree that metal cutting is a bit extreme and I would be pissed off too but how long can they stop construction for? I mean, after you took the test, there are going to be other people coming there to take tests. Asking the construction crew to stop doing their job is just ridiculous. They would have to stop construction alltogether. They should just close that test center and relocate.

 

[mintleaf80]

How are you supposed to successfully take a test with all that crap going on? It IS absolutely Prometric's responsibility to provide a quiet testing environment for their test takers. When we have to take an eight hour long test and have only an hour's break time total to disperse among the eight hours, then yes, it IS their responsibility. They should have proactively called test takers PRIOR to their exam to inform them of the ongoing construction so at least a person has the option of changing the location.

It's hardly like we can cancel our test, especially when some of these sites are booked weeks or months in advance. I know that alot of the testing sites booked ridiculously far in advance for friends that took Step 1 in the Chicagoland area. How can we merely cancel our test (like Prometric flippantly suggests) if our entire schedule is shaped around it? When we're paying hundreds of dollars to take a test that is computerized and can easily be graded, then these testing sites need to maintain their end of the bargain.

I recently took Step 2 and at the end of the test Prometric asked a series of survey questions about the testing site and its quality. What the F do they do with that info if they shirk all responsibility like that call center person did??

 

[mig26x]

Prometric should have suspended all test from a certain date to another date while the repairs were going on. Metal cutting (etc) is very bad, and USMLE requires certain degree of concentration just to stay focus and read the lengthy questions.

Its prometrics fault, they should have cancelled the exams for those days but again they would be loosing money and God forgive this people loose money!!!

 

[blanche]

I agree that Prometric needs to take responsibility to ensure that testing conditions are quiet and comfortable. Afterall, they do have a sweet deal worked out with the NBME ensuring a complete monopoly on testing medical students and residents. What are we going to do, go to a different testing center?? (they do exist btw...)

Trust me, rescheduling a few tests here and there is NOT going to put them in the red whatsoever.

 

[Hernandez]

She informed us that there are no earplugs at the test center - only the headphones. I went outside of the building and started talking to the construction guys begging them not to cut the metal pipes which they were cutting. As the construction workers informed me - there is no roof on the building, that's why the noise is going inside. They told me to talk with their supervisor - I went and talked with the construction workers' manager and he gave me earplugs and promised that they will not cut any more metal pipes, until 5pm at least.

I agree with the posters above, Prometric should have suspended all testing for that day. At least they let you use the earplugs, they did not have any and would not let me use set I had with me when I took step 2. Even though they were in an unopened package.

 

[godschosenone]

Sorry, but i'm going to have to side with prometric on this one. This is not under their control. The prometric center where I took my test was on the second floor of a building which was right on a 6 lane road in a city of 5 million. The computer which I was assigned was right at the window, so I could hear cars, trucks, police sirens, fire engines, honks etc etc. What do you expect prometric to do? Stop traffic? Now if the construction was happening AT the prometric center, then you have a case. You can't stop something like construction on a building just because you're taking a test.

Typical response from an American company. Each company blames someone else. No one takes responsibility. Well I can tell you this much: there's responsibility for every action that occurs in the world, and there is someone who oversees that responsibility. It's not your problem to know who's responsible. That's just their way of trying to pass the buck. So do as I do in these frequent situations, file formal complaints with every agency that oversees any of the involved companies. Eventually, you will get to someone who knows they are responsible. It might take a bit of your time, but just in case your performance was affected, (which inevitably was based upon the conditions you describe), you will have an avenue of legitimate complaint already in progress. Here's a good place to start--the owners of Prometric (Thomson Corp)--Corporate governance of Thomson Corporation and their Board of Directors:
Current members of the board of directors of Thomson are... (And if a letter to each of the members of the Board doesn't work, let us know...)



I am sorry to the OP for having to deal with incompetence. On behalf of those who feel it is only right to have quiet testing centers for medical board exams (as well as other important exams), let us know how this thing turns out.

 

[DrMom]

duplicate in step 1 forum, so closing.