A small oversight.

I have finally achieved the unachievable: I just passed the written test for my Alberta Class 4 driver's license. This gives me legal permission to take the road test for said license. I also got my physical done, which means that once I pass the road test I will be able to get the license right away.

I need to get my Class 4 for my job. The Alberta government requires all people who are paid for driving other people to have this level of driver's license. Regardless of how silly I think it is, it has suddenly become a necessity for me to get the same license as EMTs, taxi drivers, and school bus drivers (maximum of 24 passengers) need. (It has not been necessary before this because I didn't drive my Preschool Unit Funding clients when I was working for an agency previously, and because I typically don't charge private clients for driving them places.)

The written test itself was not really very difficult. Had it been administered on paper, I'm sure I would have passed the test on the first try. Unfortunately, it was given via computer, and today was my third attempt. Thank goodness I passed!

I remember, "back in the day", when I got my learner's permit for my Class 5 license, the testing was done on paper. The Alberta government has now updated things so much that the paper test is no longer available. I have been hoping to locate such a thing since I failed the computer version the first time (last Monday).

The problems with the computerized testing, as I see it, are:

1. the testee is only able to see one question at a time;
2. answers cannot be changed, as incorrect ones are noted as the test is taken; and
   
3. if the testee skips a question, it is simply tacked on to the end of the exam and all skipped questions are repeated at the end in the order they were originally presented.
   

Benefits of paper testing for those who are able to demonstrate need:

1. the testee is able to see all the questions at once and decide which order to answer them in;
2. if the testee suddenly realises that there is an incorrect response, it can be changed; and
   
3. if the testee skips a question, it can be attempted later on, when the testee has had time to think it over for as long as necessary.
   

Today, when I went into a different registry and asked about it, I was informed that nobody is even allowed to give the paper version anymore: it's all done by computer. I was, naturally, apprehensive about this situation, and I shared my concerns with the agent as we got me signed up to do the test.

"I was really upset when they did this," she said. "I mean, what about older people who don't know how to use computers? Yeah, it's just point & click, but still!"

I agreed. "The paper test needs to be available as an option for people with learning disabilities. I have ADHD, and the computer version just isn't a good fit for that."

Well, maybe that's not exactly the conversation we had, but it is the gist of it.

I plan to get this changed. I'm not totally sure how I'm going to do that yet, but I will be doing some research over the next little while. Keeping the option of paper testing available for the disabled and elderly isn't offering an "easy way out", it's leveling the playing field. One's ability to drive safely and follow the rules of the road has little to do with one's ability to use a computer or take a test in a specific manner.

(And, yes, I did pass on the third try, but the point is that it shouldn't have taken me that many attempts. I am a smart person, I have been driving for nigh on 16 years, and I did study for this test.)