Test-Taking Strategies Study skills Test-Taking Strategies Georgia Milestones Test Preparation

Test-Taking Strategies Selected Response Questions True/False Matching Completion QUOTE Strategy for Constructed and Extended Response

Selected Response Questions Use your knowledge of test-taking strategies to select the BEST response of the four given to you. Sometimes, the choice is obvious, but test creators will put distractors on the Milestone. A distractor is an answer item that APPEARS to be correct. You have to learn how to recognize and eliminate those distractors.

Selected Response Questions To find the BEST correct response: (Reading Comprehension) Read every reading selection for comprehension rather than completion. Don’t skip this step – many students will select distractors when they neglect to do the reading. Carefully read each question to be certain you know what is being asked of you. Eliminate obviously incorrect responses Weed out options containing absolute words (distractors) Recognize “umbrella” (or “fusion” ) questions (distractors)

Selected Response “Umbrella” Questions: Also known as “fusion” questions, seem to have more than one correct answer. Which of the following is a component in lasagna? flour pasta water salt

Selected Response The correct answer is “B”, pasta. You probably noticed that all of these choices look like “good” answers. This is a clue that you have an umbrella, or “fusion” question. The clue is that three of the answers fit within the category of the fourth. In this case, flour, water, and salt are all ingredients of pasta, so “pasta” is the correct answer. You may also notice that “pasta” is a more general term than the others. Let’s try another…

Which of the following is a part of the human leg? The femur The thigh The quadriceps The hamstrings Right away, you probably recognized that these are ALL part of a leg, so how do you decide . This is an example of another “umbrella” question.

The Answer Is… “B”, the thigh, because the others are all part of the thigh, which again is also the most general of the terms. Now, in truth, you will likely not see many umbrella questions on the Milestone, but you will need to selected the MOST correct response out of a few that seem correct. Use the same strategies to weed out the distractors and select the BEST response.

Absolute Words Another obstacle to the selected response questions is when absolute words appear in the choices. At the right is a list of some absolute words. These usually make a sentence false. None Never All Always Every day Only Must

Here is an example: (Additional strategy: Unknown words - You do not need to know who Barney is OR what SPAK is to select the correct response. Try it.) The result of Barney’s study showed that: All people suffer from SPAK No people suffer from SPAK SPAK never occurs in young people SPAK may be found more in older people

The answer is “D” Did you notice that choices A, B and C contained the absolute words “all”, “no”, and “never”. In general, absolute words limit too many options to be good choices for an answer. The correct choice, however, was more general – it contained the word “may”.

Here is another example: People with chronic disease can be described as: Inevitably in pain Always grouchy Never able to walk Needing more assistance

The Answer is… Can we really say that these people are ALWAYS grouchy or INEVITABLY in pain or NEVER able to walk? Of course not. The correct answer is “D”, “needing more assistance.”

SO…what about those unfamiliar words? Some Selected Response questions are phrased using words you have never heard. They may even be made-up words. Most students “freak out” when they see those words, and often decide that the unknown words may hold the key to the answer. However, this is another test of your deductive reasoning. If you ignore the strange word, does the question still make sense? Can you answer it without knowing what the word means?….

Let’s take a look…. You are treating a patient with Kupe’s disease. Given a choice between cotylenol to bitylenol, which of the following would be the most appropriate intervention for this patient? Cotylenol is more appropriate Bitylenol is more appropriate Bitylenol is not as appropriate Both a and b This requires more deductive reasoning…Look at the clues in the scenario given. You don’t know what Kupe’s disease is; You have never heard of “cotylenol” or “bitylenol”; ***All of the above are made up words, but it doesn’t matter.

Here are the choices again.. Cotylenol is more appropriate b. Bitylenol is more appropriate c. Bitylenol is not as appropriate d. Both a and b The answer can’t be “d” because you are asked to choose between either cotylenol or bitylenol. The answer can’t be “a” or “c” because they say the same thing That only leaves “b” as an answer, even though you have no idea what “Kupes” disease is. No need to freak out when you see unfamiliar terms!

The Milestone will assess your ability to answer complex questions The Milestone will assess your ability to answer complex questions. The more complex question asks you to: Prioritize the answers in some order (most important, best, last, first, initial, etc.); Use deductive reasoning; Use content knowledge, but only compare answers that are actually given.

Selected Response If you encounter True/False questions on the Milestone, consider the following: For a statement to be TRUE, everything about the statement must be TRUE. For a statement to be FALSE, only one component about it must be FALSE. Be careful when a statement has a negative such as “not”, “do not”, or “in” (e.g. “infrequent”) or “un” (e.g., “unfriendly”) A negative can completely change the meaning of the statement

Selected Response – True/False: If a statement has two negatives, cross out both negatives. This will make it easier for you to understand the statement It is never not a good idea to serve the people. Absolute statements are usually (not always) FALSE Absolute statements include words such as All, every, never, no (Dogs are never bald.) Qualified statements are usually (not always) TRUE Qualified statements include terms such as Some, most, sometimes, rarely (Some dogs are bald.)

Answer these T/F questions: It is never not a bad idea to sleep late. People in the middle ages were always short. Some of the Shawnee Indians were astrologers. All of the students have a GPA over 2.5. None of the scientists believe in God.

Matching Questions: Cross out items in both columns as you make matches IF AND ONLY IF the directions tell you that each selection will be used only once. Read all of the items in both columns before making any matches Make your best guess for remaining items. Start by making the matches about which you are certain

Completion Questions: Read the item and think about what is missing Write an answer that logically completes the item Be sure your answer fits the item grammatically After you write the answer, read the entire answer to make sure it makes sense.

Examples: There were too many people coming into the colony, and there was not enough ________,which led to many issues. Supplies will last far into the _________due to advances in exploration and production. There were no identified problems that would alter ____________recommendations

QUOTE strategy for Constructed and Extended Response questions Q – Question Look for direction (discuss, describe, explain) U – Underline Words that help focus on ideas to develop answers O – Organize/Write The facts & write your answer T – Time Keep track of your time as you write to allow for editing and revision E – Evaluate Remember that no writing is perfect and can always be made better. Edit and revise to be certain you submit your best work.