Strategies for Test Success Executive Functioning

Why Use Test-Taking Strategies? Tests can feel hard and scary! Even when you know the answer, you can easily make mistakes. Tests can be very important to your grade. Use these strategies to increase your chances of success!

Read the directions Always read the directions before starting any test. Preview the test before you start any parts. Ask for help if you don’t understand the directions. Hand out the “Test-Taking Practice #1” paper. Do not give additional instructions except “read the directions before you begin. When you are finished, wait silently in your seats.” Have materials mentioned on the test (extra blank or lined paper and writing utensils) available for the students.

Checking work As you take the test, circle the questions that you aren’t 100% sure about. When you finish a test, review your answers to the circled questions. Finish any questions that you skipped from before. It’s almost always better to TRY to answer (even if you have no clue) than to leave a question blank.

Answer easy questions first Start with the easy questions to improve your comfort and confidence! Use what you learn on the test to answer other questions “Skip and come back” Often, tests contain clues within them that will help you answer questions you don’t know. Use the test itself as a hint! Skip and come back– It’s ok to do the questions out-of-order. If you have no clue on a question, just skip it! Circle the number next to the question or the question itself so you remember to come back to it.

Multiple Choice Narrow choices: Eliminate answers that are obviously wrong. Cross them out! “All of the above”: With these questions, if you KNOW at least two choices are correct, the answer is probably “all of the above.” The correct answer often has a lot of information/details. Come up with answers in your head before you look at the answers. Go with your gut. “All of the above” – Explain this strategy: Read through and make check-marks by choices that you know are right. Make question marks by the choices you aren’t sure are right or wrong. If you end up with more than one check-mark, “all of the above” is probably right. If you end up with one check-mark on a “none of the above” choice, then it is not “none of the above.” Second-guessing– Go with your gut! It is usually a bad idea to change your answer unless you are sure you understood it wrong the first time.

Short Answer/Essay Questions Clarify Expectations Use complete sentences Pre-plan Start with the answer Answer the whole question If the test doesn’t say, ask the teacher what the expectation is for short answer or essay questions. You will almost always use complete sentences for these. Sometimes you have to write a paragraph or more. Pre-plan: Ask for a blank paper to plan out the answer to longer essay questions. Use your first sentence to answer the question and use the other sentences to add details. Then, you will be sure to include your best answer in your writing. If the question has more than one part, be sure to include answers for every part.

True/False “True” is a more common answer than “false.” Clues that it’s true: “Sometimes,” “usually,” or “often.” Clues that it’s false: “Always” or “never.” One false PART to a question makes it false.

Math Tests Show your work. Estimate the correct answer. Keep it nice and neat. Write down formulas before the test. Sometimes, you can use the paper. Otherwise, it will still help you remember them better. Show your work: you may get partial credit even if the answer is wrong. Estimate the correct answer: Try to guess about how big/small the answer should be. If the question is 10 x 5, and you get “3” as your answer, chances are it is wrong because it’s smaller than both numbers in the problem and doesn’t make sense for multiplication. When you are working through a problem, keep it nice and neat. Line up your numbers, remember to mark the right symbols (+, -, etc.), and circle your answer.

Accommodation options Extra time Note card Reduced answer choices Study guide Different area to test in Questions read Directions read Scribe Explain each accommodation option. Give pros and cons for each. Tell students that if they think this accommodation would help them take tests, they can talk to their advisory teacher about adding it. They can be good self-advocates! Many of these can help with test anxiety and can help you be more successful.

Practice With a partner, take the test I am about to give you. You might not know all of the answers. Use the test-taking strategies I have taught you! Under each question is a test-taking hint. Pay attention to them and practice your strategies! When you are done, wait quietly. Hand out the Test-Taking Practice #2 paper. Have students work with partners to complete the test. Make sure they are using the test-taking strategies, like crossing out wrong answers for multiple choice! After, discuss the test-taking strategies they used.

After the test Grading mistakes Make sure you understand why you got certain questions wrong If you don’t like your grade, you can ask for extra credit, a re-take, or make-up work. The teacher might say yes! Sometimes, teachers just make a straight-up mistake when they create or grade a test. They are people, too! Kindly and privately point out a mistake that you find. It might NOT be a mistake– in that case, try to figure out why you got the question wrong. Some teachers will let you re-take the test or do some other work to get points back if you really did a poor job on the test. It doesn’t hurt to ask! Use your self-advocacy skills to ask for these things!