What Helped Dana in physics go from a 54 exam score to a 91, and end up with a 90 on the final? Dana’s Problem: She used the example problems in the book to help her solve her homework problems. She did well on her homework assignments, so she thought she understood the material. Until she got to the test, when she found out she didn’t know it ...

Train Your Brain! You have to train your brain to do the tasks you need it to do on the test!

You have to train your brain ahead of time to do the tasks you need it to do once you get to the test. You will make mistakes, so it’s better to make them as you are studying (where it doesn’t count) and not on the test (where it does).

Dana’s Strategy: Write down the example problem and close the book. Work through the problem without referring back to book or notes. Power through it until you get an answer. Compare your answer to the example. If right, congratulate yourself! If wrong, close the book and go through the process again, trying to find where you made a mistake without extra help. Do this at least three times per problem to try to find the gaps in your understanding, so you can fix them before it counts. Don’t work less than 15 minutes on each problem (but once you get to 30 minutes, get some help.) This won’t work for cramming, so give yourself enough lead time to practice this procedure. It’s guaranteed to raise your test scores!