"Students, it is time to get out your pencils, close your books and remove any notes from your desks. The test is about to begin."

Those are words that make us shudder, our hearts start to pound and the palms of our hands begin to sweat. From our earliest days in school, we all have had to learn to deal with tests. It may begin with a simple first grade spelling test. But it doesn't take too long before it morphs into ISTEP, the SAT, the Bar, the Boards, or a doctoral qualifying exam. Or it might be as ordinary as a driver's test or as basic as remembering the correct password on your email account. No wonder the Boy Scouts insist that their young men must "Be Prepared!" (If I remember correctly from my scouting days, that is the motto of the Boy Scouts.)

The worst situation you can be i…