Prometric Test Center

Overview: This Prometric Testing Center is simply a small collection of PCs within 2 semi-​sound-​proof rooms within the Sylvan Learning Center.
The Service: While LaTace was really nice, some of the other workers here are a bit unpleasant. I’ll say no more.
The Establishment: There are two rooms of computers. One tiny room has 2 computers and I’m guessing it’s for test takers that need to speak or type heavily for whatever test they’re taking as to not disturb other test takers. The other has approximately 20 computers. Headphones with a microphone as well as sound isolating ear-​muffs are at each station. The monitors are old, square, 17″ LCDs and the mice have issues with their middle-​click wheel button. On my second time here, there was actually a temporary power dip that caused everyone’s test to freeze. We basically got a mandatory 30 minute break while the staff fixed the network connections and were able to resume our tests where we left off thankfully. Bathrooms could be cleaner.
The Location: Weird place. It’s across the street from a Hustler Casino and also next to Gardena Memorial Hospital. Fairly close to the freeway (within 3 blocks). There’s a small parking lot with very faded dividing lines.
Conclusions: This Gardena Prometric Testing Center is generally a clean, well run center except for a few major flaws such as 1) the lack of a battery backup or power-​smoother to deal with the frequent fluctuations with Californian electricity, 2) some unpleasant staff members, 3) the traffic in this area of LA County can be pretty rough, and 4) less than ideal bathroom cleanliness/​capacity. One perk is that it doesn’t seem very crowded here so your check-​in will be fast.

I took my USMLE step 1 exam in this place. It looked fine in the beginning, they have water, very close restrooms, and because it is a small place the check in is usually very fast. you will be in the street in like 10 seconds. Restrooms were always free. Staff were pretty friendly & helpful. Lockers are extremely big which is very comfortable compared to the Anaheim smaller lockers. They also have free WiFi. The thing that let me give them 2 stars is that they have some office next door in which people are extremely noisy, and the only barrier was a wooden door that provided minimal insulation. It was extremely hard for me to focus on my exam. I heard parking will also cost you money.

I had a great experience here. I waited for about 5−10mins before i started my exam. Staff was friendly and accomodating. The place is well ventilated. 2 testing rooms. One with 2 computers (i was lucky to be in this room). This prometric will let you take the exam earlier than the scheduled time. Bathroom is alright i guess? There isnt a spot where you could put down your stuff though. All in all the place is simple and fast paced. I was in and out. It gets the job done.
Also, theres a vending machine inside the center if ever you want to buy a soda.

I’ve taken a few exams at other centers like anaheim and this place sucks! Namely the staff, 2 middle aged female who take their job of fingerprinting and examining signatures a little too seriously. I understand it’s their job but it was enough to slow registration to a crawl and make checking in/​out during exam time so painful!!! When checking in/​out, they make me stand there for 5 minutes while they sit at their computers doing NOTHING, and make me re-​fingerprint sometimes ~5X each check in/​out myself because it isn’t «perfectly centered». comon now people, serioiusly???
and not only that but the door separating them and the examination room is pretty thin, and they like to talk/​loud pretty loudly, which can be heard through the shitty headphones provided. Talk about rude! I realize that the headphones can’t be helped, as the other facilities, like anaheim, also had poor quality headphones but their inconsideration for the test takers just did it for me. If you have a choice between this facility and another, even if you have to drive some, take the other center!!! i will NEVER come back to this center, and would advice my friends to go elsewhere.

Prometric is attached to Sylvan Learning Center, next to Gardena Memorial hospital & across the street from Hustler Casino. Not the easiest place to find, so I would recommend checking out the area before your actual test day so you don’t have to stress about parking, looking for the place, etc…
The testing center is quite small with 2 rooms. One bigger room that holds about 10 people, and a side room that holds 2 people. I was lucky to be placed in the side room and I really liked the privacy. They have small lockers to hold your personal belongings (I wouldn’t bring too much) and you have to sign in/​out every time you step away from the testing area. I brought a bottle of water and a small snack to consume halfway through the test.
Check in was pretty quick. I ended up taking my test 20 min earlier than my designated time. Before walking into the test, you get a quick pat down and get handed 2 dry erase sheets (to do math or take notes). The center has headphones to block out additional noise but I brought my own pair of earplugs for extra noise blockage. One single stalled bathroom is available for use.
Not the nicest looking testing center, but it gets the job done.

Was pleasantly surprised by this place.
It’s not as crowded as the Culver one, so you get checked in quickly. I arrived at 7:40 and my test started at 7:55. Speed demons! I came to visit two days before my test, and the attendings there were very patient and were happy to answer my questions.
The place is small, but there is a café on the other side of the building if you want to buy a quick lunch
However, the place loses 2 stars from me because it is attached to a Sylvan learning center which gets a little noisy (though I didn’t notice it during my test). Also the bathrooms are dirty.
It featured a sign that told me to not use too much toilet paper… and later, «Thank you for your corporation». Learning center?

Awesome staff.

If you’re curious about what to expect when you come to a Prometric Testing site please click on the link below. Prometric has made some short videos to educate any examinee on procedures and guidelines. This way, an examinee can be well prepared. Being better prepared equals better results.

3 stars due to service… when I went, there’s an older lady and younger girl working there… the older lady is very rude is very short with you. The younger girl is the total opposite, very nice and happy attitude.

I don’t know why this place has such bad reviews. It was old but clean. I was seated promptly even though I was early. They provided everything I need. I wore a set of foam ear plugs and the over the ear ones they provide so obviously it was quiet for me. I’m from the mountains so the room was the perfect temperature for me. The woman who checked me in was a little curt but the one who signed me out was quite friendly. I’d go here again.

My experience wasn’t bad at all. True this place isn’t exactly in Beverly Hills and yes, the Hustler Casino is across the street. However, it’s basically in a big modern office building with the testing center inside the Sylvan Learning Center. I took the GRE from 130 – 5 and it was chill. The noisy employees are gone and the two proctors were professional and quiet. There are lockers and the bathrooms aren’t too bad. Be forewarned though, the testing room is freezing cold. I was wearing wool socks, jeans, a t-​shirt and a hoodie and I was still cold. So yeah, definitely wear warm clothes. But hey, at least you won’t sweat your exam, just get the shivers. The testing room wasn’t too noisy when I was there, just the sound of keyboards and the occasional shuffle. The cubicles are large and clean.

I’d never been to a Prometric test center before, so I didn’t know what to expect. It is located in a Sylvan Learning Center across the street from Hustler Casino. I arrived 30 minutes before my test start time, and the test center woman asked if I wanted to start earlier. Nice– sure! The check-​in process is pretty straightforward and the staff is really efficient. The test area itself is really small, about 15 or so computers. You might want to use the headphones they provide or bring your own. Word of advice– it gets freakin cold in there! I was wearing a t-​shirt and sweatshirt and was still cold! If you are taking a long test (I was– 4 hours) you might want to bring a snack, which you’ll leave outside the testing area but can get it when you take a break.

This place is a dump compared to the anaheim prometric center. Thank god i took my series 7 in anaheim and not this place because i probably would have failed just by the environment alone. The headphones were dirty and grimy, the center was noisy, and the keyboards looked like the original ones used when computers were first invented. Beware if you are sensitive to cold like me — they crank up the AC so bring a jacket even if it’s the dead of summer! i couldn’t concentrate i was so cold in there.
good thing for me i was only there taking some continuing ed for finra, if i were taking a serious test, i would take the extra effort and trekk back out to the anaheim office to take the exam.

I went to this test center today to take my step 3 boards. I have been to this testing site before and it’s always been okay, so I didn’t think twice about coming here again. Long story short, all of Prometric had computer difficulties today, so I had the option of taking my 8 hour test on another day, and gladly made that choice, yay! The people who work here are always nice and were today, too. It’s kind of a seedy part of town, across from the Hustler casino, but there’s always plenty of parking. My biggest complaint here compared to all the other Prometrics is probably the location in reference to food. There’s a tiny café that has okay food, but not much else anywhere nearby. Most of the other ones have better food choices. Also, bathrooms are limited, which sucks when you’ve got very limited breaks. My best advice for taking a test here or at any other prometric is to always bring a lot of water and snacks and dress in layers, because those rooms can get freezing.

I decided on taking my exam at this location because it’s close to me. I really don’t have a measuring stick to compare as this was my first and only time I’ve taken the GRE, but still, with that said, I’m pretty sure I know substandard when I see it. I arrive to the test center about an hour early hoping to squeeze whatever last minute studying of vocab words into my brain. But once I walk in, it was «wait here, sign this, go there» and little more was said before I found myself sitting in a dirty little room ready to start my exam a lot earlier than expected. Sure, if I were more studious and perhaps better prepared, I’d probably appreciate the early start, but hey I’m not, and I don’t appreciate losing precious study time that way. So anyway, if you’re a first time test taker and not sure what to expect at the testing facility, don’t look to the staff here for any help.
I was given two half-​chewed #2 pencils with eraser-​heads that were too little and crappy to actually be used. The testing rooms are adjacent to where the «proctors» sit, so you’d think they’d realize the close proximity would mean test takers could hear them talking and they should perhaps, out of professional courtesy, keep their voices down; but no, they don’t care – and it’s not just talking that they do, it’s straight full-​on jibberjabber conversations about their in-​laws and whatnot. I know this, because while I should have been focusing on my exam, I was instead forced to hear every detail of the proctor’s Thanksgiving dinner plans. I mean, would it be so difficult to keep quiet while a dozen hopeful test takers are around you trying to concentrate on an exam that could very well determine the course of their future? To boot, the girl sitting next to me is talking to herself the entire time too. I tend to talk to myself when I’m under stress too, but I try not to do that when I’m taking a test in a small room, with another person sitting right next to me– but that’s beside the point. So the girl next to me decides to utilize her break to go to the bathroom. Oh good, I’m taking my exam and thinking to myself I get 10 full minutes of no distracting whispering in my right ear now, phew. But no, of course not. The girl walks out and leaves the testing room door open. I didn’t realize this until I notice that the proctors’ talking have now become increasingly loud. Okay, it’s 2 minutes into the break, maybe the proctors will realize that the testing door is open and they’ll shut it… 3 minutes now – nope nothing. 4 minutes, still nothing, just continued jibberjabber by the proctors in the other room… 5 minutes – oh dammit, alright I’ll get up and shut the door myself. Ughhhh!
So, anyway that was my experience here. I thought maybe I was just unlucky, but from the looks of the other reviews, this seems to be how they run the place. I would not suggest taking your exam here. Although, if you’re the kind of person who gets extra nervous in a starch atmosphere, maybe you can benefit. They’re definitely very lax with their code of conduct.

So I already did pretty well on the GRE (at the testing center in Culver City), but I was recommended to take one more stab at this beast just for the hell of it. The only reason I couldn’t take it the previous time locally here in Gardena was because I waited so long to register, so I was actually happy to try one more GRE assault in my own backyard.
I arrive and this place really isn’t set up for being a testing center. I have to sit in a chair in a hallway and wait. Nobody is doing anything, but they make me wait for 10 minutes. Of course they didn’t even tell me how long I would be waiting, just to «go wait over there until we call you…» Kinda unprofessional in a totally uncultured way. Doesn’t management realize that the majority of people that come in other than SAT kids will be testing for graduate, medical, or law school??? WTF!!! Train your employees better geez.
So at the Culver City location (and at the Pearson Gardena location for GMAT testing, which I also took), they give you cool, in-​ear foam earplugs. Basically the rules are that once you start the test, that’s it. If there is a fire or earthquake, your score will still go in, but you can have something done afterwards to note what happened (I forgot what), but it is still permanently recorded that you took it. The point of this is, the earplugs are designed to stop a noisy person near you from distracting you because there ain’t squat you or anyone will be able to do once the test starts and the fuse is lit!
After signing me in, they don’t offer me anything, and stick me in this craphole side room with two computers in it. I see these humongous headphone things and just picture them all smelly and ear-​oil goop infested and figure, ok I probably won’t use those. There’s some girl taking a test next to me making lots of fidgeting around noises, but I don’t give too much of a crap about something like that (talking or singing, yeah that would be annoying).
So I start taking the test, and within 15 minutes, I hear the stupid women in the testing office talking ALL LOUD and LAUGHING/​CACKLING ALL LOUD and saying all kind of stupid gossip shit. I turn around and look at them, and they all stop and look at me. I figure ok that should give them the message. 10 seconds later, NOPE! So I’m like, ok this place is a shithole and I wish I went to the other place again which was super nice, but whatever I have to live with it. Obviously they don’t know any better, so it’s hopeless to think they might get a freaking clue and change their way of life anytime in the next 3 hours.
Of course this GRE test will strain your brain to the max, so I’m sitting there thinking, tapping my pen on the scratchpad (VERY lightly mind you), and as one of them brings in someone else to use the computer next to me, she tells me in a condescending, «stop tapping your pencil on the desk.» I’m thinking, «why don’t you shut up while I’m taking my test then!» Of course I didn’t say it, but I was thinking it so loud that I think she might have heard me. Whatever you dumb test nazi.
So in any case, I finish the test and didn’t score higher, but luckily no big loss. Seriously, I was so irked that it definitely distracted me to a significant degree. I come out and she makes me stand there for another 5 minutes for I don’t know what reason, since she won’t even bother to look up at me to even acknowledge that I’m standing there. Then she asks the dumbest question E-V-E-R-R-R…are you finished? I’m thinking no, I just fucking left in the middle of a super important timed test that won’t wait for anything in the universe, and figured I’d stand here for no reason. And if this was the case, why in the hell did you ignore me for so long?
Lameness to the nth degree squared!!!
Bring your own foam earplugs here and I suppose you should be ok, but these idiots might not even let you use them. I’d happily take a test again at the Culver City location, but here, never again. With what is at stake when you take these tests (basically the rest of your life!!), I’d definitely suggest for everyone not to come here.

OK so the second time wasn’t too bad. Staff was much more considerate. They even got me in early to start my test, which I definitely appreciated… But still, would rather go elsewhere. For you Gardena people, I understand it’s close by, BUT it’s so worth going elsewhere to take your test, SERIOUSLY.
One plus is you can head over to the Hustler Casino afterward and blow off some steam if you want :)

I exorcised one of my demons aka the GRE here. I had this great idea to give up Unilocal temporary so I could use that time to study. How much that helped is debatable, but at least I know I’m not addicted to Unilocal.This testing center was pretty small, around 15 computers in one room. Because of this you can faintly hear the collecting buzzing of the computers. It’s not too bad, but the test center provides these old school ear muffs thing to cancel it out a bit. Picture the muffs airplane mechanics wear but smaller. The computer monitors here are rather archaic also, they’re still using the CRT. The temperature of the room is kept at a nice temperature. You may want to bring a sweater just in case. The ladies working there are nice and efficient checking people in. This testing center is co-​located w/​Sylvan Learning Center.