But then he decides we are going to complete it in groups of 3-5 people. But we’re not allowed to divide the questions between group members, which every other group does anyway, and both my partners want to write long, word-for-word answers even when paraphrasing the book would suffice. Which I guess isn’t that big a deal....

Except that now I’m taking an exam while everyone else is talking, and they’re all shouting over each other because I guess “use your inside voice” was one of those special different for you rules or something. So I am now operating at a disadvantage compared to some of the others because their loud verbal dialogues are now overwriting my thought process, and I can’t process my answers as completely, but the added verbal dimension also means I am now struggling to actually communicate my answers to my partners.

They’re skeptical of my answers of course, and because I say them more slowly and paraphrased compared to the book, they don’t like most of the word choices I use.

Then people are finishing their exams before us and when they get done, they don’t stop talking, and in fact they start talking louder, so I’m now stuck between writing, and clamping my hands over my ears. And the professor does nothing about this, even when one of my partners gets overloaded and goes into the hall, because screw you who aren’t finished I guess. 

I spend the rest of that class period overloaded and not fully processing anything that anyone says. If it happens again, I’ll probably sneak in some earplugs under my hat, and maybe see if he’ll let me take the test without a group since I can’t do both the social thing and the testing thing at the same time.