Traditionally, the night before the exams can be a troubled night for students. It can be troubled as well for whom is in charge of the exams, too.

Being involved with the preparation of the exams of Accademia Italiana di Lingua since 1985, as examinator, expert, internal supervisor, external supervisor, and exam centre in-charge, the night before the exam I always worry. Especially if – like this time – I have a good number of students, three rooms, three supervisors, three commissions of exam, and especially given that the exams are at my school , and everything must go smoothly.
I work hard in advance, to prepare the lists, the rooms, to fix the supervisors, the experts and the examiners. Of course, I have people who helps me, but, at the end of the day, I am the only responsible.
I want to be sure that everyone knows her/his part, and we go over and over the schedule, step by step.
And then, I go over the whole schedule again, to find out what could go wrong. Double check the lists, no name misspelled, noone forgotten, double check the CD for the audio test (CD tends to give bad suprises if you trust them too much), double check the CD players if they do work. Count and recount the exam booklets, one for every student – plus two or three more, just in case – see if the questions match with the answer’s papers .
A plan B is always necessary, even if you do hope to never use it. Backup for CD players, backup for examiners, copy machine at the ready… and then, if a snowfall hits and half of the teacher cannot come… Okay, goodnight, see you early in the morning, tomorrow will be a big day.