Ace Test Taking Strategy

Taking tests is an important part of school at any level. Tests let teachers know how well you are learning in their class and can help you adjust your learning strategy to be more effective. Acing tests can help improve your grade and studying for the tests can help reinforce the knowledge in your mind. Using a few simple tips can help you ace nearly every test.

Before

Make sure you stay on top of your assignments every day. Finish everything on time and well. This will help you make sure you have learned everything and can avoid cramming. Cramming can be useful if done a few hours before the test. The large amount of information obtained during cramming can only stay in your mind a few hours at the most. Retaining information requires learning smaller amounts of information daily. Spending only an hour or two every school day learning the information can help you retain the information. Learning it by chapters or units can help your mind retain the information in clearly filed format. Use flash cards, personal remembering techniques, outlines and study groups to help retain information. Sleep well the night before and get a good health breakfast before school.

During

Try to make it to the test early. This will give you time to get everything together and relax. Organize your desk carefully, placing your pencils, paper and any other tools you need in place. Breathe deeply and chat amiably with your classmates and teacher. This will help loosen the atmosphere and help you relax. When you get the test, look over it carefully to get a good grasp of what you are expected to be doing. Prioritize the test sections. Do the easiest questions first and save the most difficult for last. Getting stuck on a hard question can cause you to ponder it too long and waste time. It can also create tension and fear. Just skip it until the end. Get all the easy points first. It will give you a confidence boost and save you time for the difficult ones. For essay questions, find out what the main point of the question is and then dissect how you will answer it. Make a short, simple outline in your mind or on the page and fill it. Be concise, yet precise. Underline any important terms and use them to answer the question. Use the vocabulary of the unit you are being tested on and carefully proofread what you have written for grammar and coherency. Multiple choice answers that start with the phrases always, never, none, except, most or least are often not the right answer as they are too extreme. If you have to guess, avoid these answers. If two options are close to the same they are often not the correct answer. However, answers that are vastly different are often the correct answer.

References

• How to Study
• University of Minnesota-Duluth
• Bucks County Community College