Advantages:
Why Solo Exam Dividers are better than...
- Corrugated paper.
Corrugated paper dividers are
available commercially.
They stand upright by forming a U-shaped
corral around the student on three sides. While initially
cheaper, they have these disadvantages:
- While the student has privacy from the sides,
he/she is also hidden from the teacher at the
front of the room. This is a serious limitation on the design
as the supervisor cannot see what a student is looking at or what
is in the student's hands.
- Corrugated paper is not washable. Any smudges,
notes or graffiti that appear on the dividers is
likely permanent. Some suppliers recommend that they
be replaced every year.
- Some of these dividers are only 14 inches high -too
short for a typical secondary school student or a
college student.
- Corrugated paper is not durable.
- File folders.
File folders, when stapled together in pairs are
sometimes used as exam dividers. They have these disadvantages:
- They do not stand well vertically. They frequently
fall over or are blown over in the wake
of people walking by.
- Even using legal-sized folders, these dividers
could only be 15 inches tall.
- Durability is poor.
- They usually cannot be cleaned of dirt, notes or graffiti.
- Plywood or hardboard.
Wood is sometimes used to
construct exam divider
screens. These dividers are usually made to stand upright by means of
blocks which may be attached permanently or which may be separate.
While they are usually durable, they have these disadvantages:
- Because wood dividers are heavy, they may cause
an injury if they were to drop on a foot or be swung
into a student when being handled.
- They are noisy to set up and take down.
- Plywood is prone to splintering with the
potential of causing slivers under the skin of
those handling it.
- They take up a great deal of space
when stored and are difficult to move from room to room.
- They often need to be re-painted in order to remove
marks and graffiti.
- Textbooks or loose-leaf binders are sometimes pressed into
service as exam dividers. They have these disadvantages:
- They are not nearly tall enough or wide enough to provide effective
screening from neighbours.
- They do not stand well vertically unless partially
opened.
- A partially opened textbook or notebook is usually a security risk
in exams.
[None of the above types is supplied with its own
stand for convenient and compact storage. Because they are relatively light and compact, Solo
sets are easily carried between rooms if needed in more than one location.]
