test taking strategies this is a compendium of ideas from various sources to help you to do well on...

Test Taking Strategies

This is a compendium of ideas from various sources to help you to do well on

tests and to help you to teach your students about successful test-taking

Short Answer• Taking the Short Answer Test• • Step 1: Read the question carefully to understand what it asks. Underlining key

words often will focus your attention.• Step 2: Start your answer by making a PROMISE that includes key words from

question and your general answer.• Step 3: Keep the promise with a REASON, EXAMPLE, or EXPLANATION.• Step 4: REINFORCE the logical train of thought that the first two steps establish

with a MORE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, REASON, OR EXPLANATION.• Let's look at a sample question from a History 001 test. Can you see where the

answer addresses all four steps?• What was the significance of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.? Who was

involved in leading this conference?• The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. met at the order of Constantine (the Great) of

Rome and was significant because it marked the first time that leaders of the Eastern and Western church came together to solve a mutual problem. In this case, the problem was renouncing Arianism by adopting a creed or test of faith that stated the divinity of Christ the Son and His position of equality with the Trinity.

• As you prepare for a short answer test, come up with your own practice questions so you can rehearse for the final.

http://www.eop.mu.edu/study/ShortAnswer.html

Multiple-choice tests• MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS:• Read the questions carefully.• Always try to guess what the answer is BEFORE you look at the choices.• If you are unsure about an answer, eliminate what it CAN'T be. Try to

remember if any of the answers left are related to that subject. Do you remember seeing that word in the chapter?If you have never heard of a choice it is probably a distracter. If you can not recognize a choice then it is probably NOT the answer.

• After eliminating all other choices, lake a logical guess. At least you have narrowed down the odds of getting the answer correct. Remember, the first guess is usually more reliable unless you obtain a major revelation along the way.

• If after a few seconds you are still perplexed, mark the question so you can find it easier later and go on with the test. Sometimes the answer you're looking for is given in a different problem. Go back to that question later.

• NEVER leave a multiple choice question blank. You have a 20-25% chance of getting it right by guessing.

http://www.eop.mu.edu/study/BiologyExam.html

Multiple-choice Questions

• ALL-OF-THE-ABOVE QUESTIONS: If 2 or more of the answers are correct, then the all-of-the-above option is the correct answer, EVEN IF you are unsure of the third option.

• LOOK-ALIKE OPTIONS: Sometimes there are 2 options that are alike except for one word. Such a pair indicates that the question is focused there. USUALLY, not always, you can assume the answer is one of that pair.

http://www.eop.mu.edu/study/BiologyExam.html

General Test-taking Strategies

• Remember Maslow: make sure your basic needs are taken care of. Get plenty of sleep—don’t cram all night. Eat a meal prior to the test that doesn’t cause your blood sugar to spike and fall off sharply (eat fruits and vegetables rather than Twinkies and candybars). If it is okay to do so, bring something to eat during the test.

• Arrive early so being late will not add to your anxiety. Use multiple alarm clocks and get your mother to give you a wake-up call.

General test-taking strategies

• Wear a watch, particularly for timed tests. This is critical for Praxis II.


• Bring everything you'll need to class with you. There's nothing worse than being unprepared and spending your time searching for a pen or pencil.

http://712educators.about.com/cs/assessment/qt/teststrategies.htm


• READ THE DIRECTIONS



• OH—AND READ EACH QUESTION CAREFULLY

The only way to get full credit for what you know is to answer questions as completely as possible. This can only happen if you READ the directions and the questions.


• Look over the whole test so you can see what you will need to do and perhaps choose which part you will do first.

• Do a quick "mind dump" of information you don't want to forget. Write it down on scrap paper or in the margin.

http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/tests.htm


• Answer questions in a strategic order: • First easy questions

to build confidence, score points, and mentally orient yourself to vocabulary, concepts, and your studies (it may help you make associations with more difficult questions)

• Then difficult questions or those with the most point value

http://www.studygs.net/tsttak1.htm


• Every time you skip a question, be sure to mark it. How many times have you left an answer blank by accident? Ouch--what a waste. Be sure to make a star beside questions if you skip them. Don't leave any blanks.

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/schooltests/a/tips.htm

Plan for your test

• Break the materials down and study one part each day. This means you have to PLAN some time in advance and you need to be disciplined about working every day.

• Each day test yourself on previous days’ studying. • If you do this, you will approach the test with much

greater confidence.• Confidence will help you to make good decisions.• Anxiety produces poor decisions. Do what you can

to avoid anxiety by preparing for the test beforehand.

Plan for your test

• Where possible, simulate test conditions. Create test questions for yourself or use materials in the book, old tests, or quizzes you find on-line (my guess is that you can find quizzes about almost anything on-line).

• Time yourself so you can practice being under test conditions.

• Try to analyze your struggles. Are you getting answers wrong because you lack information? Or, are you getting answers wrong because you are having trouble warping your brain along the lines of the test? If you lack information, then you need to study more. If you know the information but are still getting things wrong, you need to analyze how the test questions are constructed and work on test-taking strategies.

Go to http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/checklis.html for a way of figuring out where some of the difficulties might be.

Plan for your test

• Do NOT study passively—passing your eyes over a bunch of text, hoping some of it sticks in your brain. It won’t. That’s like sleeping with your book under your pillow, hoping to learn by osmosis. It doesn’t work (I was so desperate once that I tried it).

• Remember that people learn best when they have access to the same information visually, aurally, and kinesthetically.

• Therefore: read (visual), write (visual AND kinesthetic), draw pictures and diagrams (visual), read out loud (aural), talk (aural), make a podcast of information to play on your mp3 player (aural), use sign language—official or your own made up version (kinesthetic).

• P.S. Help your students learn to do this also.

Plan for your test

• One of the common test-taking strategies is to underline key words. The question becomes, what is a key word?

• You need to practice this, especially if you have struggled with test-taking in the past. Find a sample test in the area, underline key words, and then go talk to someone (a student who is good at test taking or a professor) about this to see if you were right.

Plan for your test

• Now that you know your key words, you need to practice understanding what they mean, particularly in the context of a test.

• Try defining them. Then check your definitions with an expert (student who does well with tests or professor). Ask yourself, “why did the author of the test use this word here? What is this word asking me to do?”

Studying• 1. Set aside a place for study and study only!• A. Find a specific place (or places) that you can use for studying (for example, the

campus libraries, vacant classrooms, quiet areas in the student center, bedroom at home, etc.)

• B. Make a place specific to studying. You are trying to build a habit of studying when you are in this place. So, don't use your study space for social conversations, writing letters, daydreaming, etc.

• C. Insure that your study area has the following: • good lighting • ventilation • a comfortable chair, but not too comfortable • a desk large enough to spread out your materials • D. Insure that your study area does not have the following: • a distracting view of other activities that you want to be involved in • a telephone • a loud stereo • a 27-inch color TV • a roommate or friend who wants to talk a lot • a refrigerator stocked with scrumptious goodies

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/concentr.html

Studying• 2. Divide your work into small, short-range goals.• A. Don't set a goal as vague and large as ... "I am going to spend all day

Saturday studying!" You will only set yourself up for failure and discouragement.

• B. Take the time block that you have scheduled for study and set a reachable study goal. (for example: finish reading 3 sections of chapter seven in my Psych. text, or complete one math problem, or write the rough draft of the introduction to my English paper, etc.)

• C. Set your goal when you sit down to study but before you begin to work.

• Set a goal that you can reach. You may, in fact, do more than your goal but set a reasonable goal even if it seems too easy.

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/concentr.html

Time management

• Planning for a test requires you to manage your time.

• Each evening, you need to plan the next day, thinking about what you want to accomplish in relation to long- and short-term goals and how much time you have.

• Planning time is a lot like budgeting money: you often find that you have more things you want to buy than money to buy them with. In that case, you have to prioritize.

Visit http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/TMInteractive.html for a helpful time management tool.

Time management

• Even with the best of planning, situations arise that take more time than you planned. You may have to reprioritize the rest of your day.

• However, you might find that you can PREVENT time problems with proper planning. For example, running out of gas can throw your whole schedule out of whack. Yet running out of gas is something that can be prevented with good planning.

Perfectionism

• Oftentimes, people who have a strong desire to do very well have a difficult time getting started. It’s very hard to start doing something when you are afraid of doing it wrong.

• Remember that anything you do towards studying is better than nothing, even if it is not perfect.

An example of an extreme exam• I knew someone who had to study for the exam that allows a

person to become a veterinary pathologist.• The exam is three DAYS in length. It involves examining

tissues under a microscope (being able to tell species of animal, organ from which the tissue was drawn, as well as the disease), as well as multiple-choice questions about a huge range of professional literature.

• People studying for this exam have to read and digest years’ worth of information printed in professional journals. They have to practice looking at tissue samples under the microscope across a huge range of species, organs, and diseases.

• As you might imagine, most people do not pass all sections of the exam the first time.

Extreme exam

• This person elected to study four hours a day for six months. She elected to make sure she spent time every day doing some fun things as well.

• She followed this schedule and passed the exam the first time.

• Moral of the story: When you have a large task to do, break it down into manageable pieces and don’t burn yourself out by thinking about it 24 hours a day.

test taking strategies this is a compendium of ideas from various sources to help you to do well on...

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