Help! I Keep Failing My State Board Exam and I’m Scared to go Back.

Help I keep failing my state board exam and I’m scared to go back!

Believe it or not this is a statement that I hear a lot from students all over the country. The feeling of having graduated from a salon professional school and taking your test to become licensed is one of the most exciting feelings that you are ever going to experience. It’s also one of the most nervous feelings that you are going to experience and even on test day that nervousness won’t go away but you will just push through it and give it the best you’ve got.
There is no greater disappointment than going to state board and feeling like you are ready only to get a failing score. It’s a devastating feeling that I have watched many of the students I have worked with over the years painfully explain to me, even to the point of tears. Let’s face it we all want to go to state board and get one hundred percent or at the very least a passing score, but the reality of the matter is that does not always happen. After failing your exam it’s going to feel like it’s the end of the world and you can feel that way for about twenty-four hours and then you are going to have to shake that feeling off and get back on the path to securing your license.
If you have failed you have to find out why you failed. Many testing companies will speak with you regarding your exam and why you received the score you did. Ask specific questions so you know what to work on. If your testing company doesn’t offer requested feedback you may have to circle back to your school and speak with an educator. If your school doesn’t offer assistance postgraduation you will need to find an outside source for correct information in your state such as the state board of cosmetology and barbers or a test prep company.
There are two main areas of point loss during the practical exam. The first is the area of preparedness which is your supplies and second is infection control and safety. The reality of the matter is the state board knows you are a new student and you are not going to have solid practical skills yet which is why the average passing score is seventy to seventy five percent. You can have solid skills but if you don’t bring the right implements in the right condition and you aren’t following infection control and sanitation procedures you will still fail. Being prepared is key, so if you aren’t sure what you need to bring with you don’t guess there are several state board exam kit companies to rely on for help with your kit. You don’t have to let you state board exam kit be a source of causing you to fail your test.
I personally had some challenges at state board also, trust me it happens to the best of us. I can remember when I went to take the exam to become a teacher, my entire mannequin head fell off of the stand and rolled across the floor in the middle of my virgin haircolor demonstration! Could you image your mannequin hitting the floor? Well it happened to me and I just knew that I was going to fail because of it. I put all of my implements down, took off my gloves, picked her up and placed her back on the stand, sanitized my hands, and continued my test as if it never happened. When I was leaving the room and they handed me my score and I had passed I was so shocked. I didn’t know then what I know now which is that they’re more concerned with the infection control procedures displayed as you retrieve your implement and get back to work than they are with you dropping something. But that didn’t make it any less nerve wracking.
I share that story with you because sometimes students feel like they can’t recover once they make a mistake during their exam and it’s just a lost cause and it’s hard to continue the test with confidence. One mistake won’t count you out, just focus and continue on until you get to the end. If you do fail, make a plan of action to get yourself prepared for the next time you take your test.
If you have failed your exam and you have been afraid to go back because you lack the confidence and motivation to try again, I encourage you to get your textbook out, look over your steps and procedures and find the motivation to schedule your retake and get your license! Look up some state board prep classes in your area, call a friend who has already passed the exam, do whatever it takes to get the ball rolling. You will feel so much better once you accomplish the task of obtaining your professional license. You went to school, more than likely you have student loans, and you don’t want your skills to go to waste. Settle in and let’s make a goal together.
Set it in your mind that before the 2019 calendar year ends you will get your professional license. Put everything that tells you to be fearful and that you can’t do it out of your mind. Schedule the appointment somewhere between thirty days from today and December thirty-first of this year and put your plan in motion. Link up with other professionals, join a state board group on Facebook, inbox State Board Professor and tell them you need some state specific practical exam tips and they will post some for you. Whatever you have to do, make this the year that you get your professional license!

Prof. Singleton