Event format: Test or Stations?

[zeldamaniac95]

thats right! For A&R at state some of it was a powerpoint and it was horrible!!!!!!!!

[doctor]

i like tests
stations make 3 minutes seem like 3 seconds!!
too much pressure
and u can't control how much time u want to spend on each question

[blufoster6]

It really depends on the event. No matter what, I prefer to have a copy of the test; stations or test.

[JonnyC]

I like stations, it feels more like a competition than just a normal test.

[sadistic_cottoncandy]

i like tests because then you can skip a question and come back to it later, to avoid wasting time. you can't do that with stations, and a lot of the teams that ive competed against end up with a lot of blank spots on the answer key thingy. plus, if it's say, a state test, those tend to be a little more in depth and sometimes longer....same with nats tests. it's hard to adapt an entire complicated test into station form. not to mention the fact that you would lose valuable testing time changing stations.

[gneissisnice]

Haha for entomology 2 years ago, we had a powerpoint at regionals, and i forgot to bring my glasses =). We managed to get a seat up front though, and we still got 1st.

[sewforlife]

I think I like stations better. For A+R, we had stations, and if we didn't get a question, I would write down what the question was sorta about, and try to remember so that later, my partner, who was more experienced, could fill them in, and look in the field guide. stations are easier to do for A+R, but for a testing event like Anatomy or Reach, i think tests would be easier

[htmlfreak]

I think for tests the score dispersion might be smaller, which is probably why some tests (like disease detectives) has so many tiebreaker questions. With stations, I'm guessing the score dispersion is more varied, so there's a significant difference in scores between 1st place and let's say, 5th place. Then again, it all depends on the level of specificity of the questions when doing stations, maybe for herpetology free response questions (like one word answers) might increase the score dispersion even more rather than multiple choice.

[gneissisnice]

Well, another reason stations can be better to decrease the amount of ties because time becomes another issue. Not only is there only 40 or 50 minutes for the test, but you only have 1.5 to 2 minutes per station, making it more difficult. If it was one test, then that wouldnt be so much of an issue.
Also, fossils and herp (A and R) have to be stations, because the way the event is set up.

[soobsession]

well, ive had both tests and stations. tests was a whole lot less stressful since you can use your time anyway you want. however, fossils was in stations and the problems there were so easy and stations were fine. i also did something similr to sewforlife, if we didnt finish a q to a previous station, i would work on the next station and my partner would work on the previous q...it really depends on what event it is...