testing....

 

Imagine teaching a knitting class, full of eager students at varying degrees of experience.  Some are just mastering the knit and purl, ready to tackle a ribbed accessory or two.

 

Others are a little more adventurous, practising yarn overs and knitting two together, perhaps learning to read a lace chart for a more challenging project - just a bit of lace though!

Some are a little more experienced, ready to tackle more lace or perhaps even a bit of colourwork...

And some are adventurous and experienced, confident and ready for a challenge - multiple colours, interesting shapes, unique patterns...

And then imagine giving all of these keen knitters the same needles, same yarn, and same pattern and expecting all to be successful without your hand to guide, without your prompting to recheck the gauge or the chart, without your assistance to redo that cable or pick back the row to fix the mistake.  You love teaching, you love watching students learn new skills, master new concepts, and collaborate with others to share their ideas.  And you set aside all of that for 3 days in May, so that standardized tests can be administered.