TEST TAKING TIPS AND TRICKS MR. Jernigan

Socrative Question 1,2, & 3 Why do we have tests? What are your general feelings about tests? How would you rate yourself as a test-taker?

Why Testing? Tests or assessments are valuable tools in gauging a student’s learning or mastery of ideas or skills. Tests should be learning experiences: students should be able to learn about the subject and themselves; teachers should be able to use them to hone their teaching and insure that students are learning as they should. Tests are vital elements in determining grades. college admissions, scholarship awards, as well as career options and advancement/

Socrative Questions 4 &5 What can be done to improve one’s test taking abilities? What do you do to insure test-taking success?

General Habits for Testing Success Success in testing can be maximized through the formation and constant implementation of some basic learning habits.

FIRST THINGS FIRST:STUDY The biggest factor in your success is the time and effort you put into mastering the subject matter. No amounts of tricks or shortcuts will make the same difference as your efforts in the course will. Giving maximum effort in class is the first step in test preparation. Once you’ve done this, you can study the material outside of class to help insure that you retain the knowledge.

Habits for Classroom Success Be Present: Be Attentive: Listen with your eyes Be Engaged: think critically, ask questions. Be Active: note-taking, participation, etc. Be Organized: Use your work, notes, and tests as a resource. Be Persistent: Even if certain tasks seem difficult, follow through until you succeed.

Follow Up: Follow Through It is not enough to simply show up to class. Taking 5-10 minutes a night to reinforce what you learned in class can make all the difference in your testing success. Pay attention to and identify fundamental or repeated terms or ideas. Use notes to help make lists and tables to organize and reinforce your learning. Concentrate on understanding key processes and concepts. Brainstorm possible test questions and answers.

Test Anxiety Nervousness about tests is completely normal. In fact, it can sometimes be helpful in improving student performance. However, test anxiety is excessive nervousness that inhibits a student’s ability to successfully exhibit their learning. Test anxiety can often be overcome by implementing the tips included in the next slides. Even if test anxiety is not a problem, the tips can prove helpful to students.

Before You Test Try to avoid cramming. Rather spread your study over longer periods of time Familiarize yourself with the basic format of the test. Take practice tests Prepare yourself and your supplies well ahead of the test time Take care of yourself physically, emotionally, and socially prior to taking the test Take time to relax amidst your preparation Keep the test in perspective: no single test defines you as a human being

While You Test Skim the test to familiarize yourself with its format and contents. Take short mental breaks between sections of the test or as you need. Plan out written responses before writing. Pace yourself; avoid the urge to rush. Think positively.

After You Test: If you have time Go back and review your work. Beware the urge to change answers on a whim. Traditionally your first inclinations are correct in testing situations. Pay heed to make sure your answers are in the correct space. Check your grammar and spelling on short answer and essay problems. Reward yourself for your preparation and work. When you get your results use them to learn about the subject and your learning.

Test Types and Tips Identifying question types can help us implement strategies to maximize our efficiency in testing situations.

Multiple Choice Tests Multiple choice tests are a very common type of test structure because they provide quick, objective feedback on a student’s learning and subject mastery. Multiple choice tests do have some shortcomings like the fact that they do not assess higher and creative thinking. Despite this fact, college entry, job promotions, and careers can be built upon these types of tests.

Approaching Multiple Choice Tests Quickly scan the test before you start. Do problems you are sure of first. Then approach problems you find more difficult. Cover up answers while reading the question. Try and answer the question in your head before looking at the answers. If your answer is among the multiple choice options, circle it then look at and compare it with the other options If your answer is not among the options, look for answers that mean the same thing as your answer. If nothing like that is present, use other tricks to help figure out the answer.

Difficult Multiple Choice Questions If the question is difficult… Skip the problem, mark that you skipped it, and come back to finish it later. Eliminate answers you know are wrong. State the question as a statement with the answer, and ask if it sounds true. Question answers that sound unfamiliar. Use hints from other questions to help. If there is no penalty, guess if necessary. B or C are more commonly correct.

Special Problems and Answers In "All of the above" and "None of the above" choices, if you are certain one of the statements is true don't choose "None of the above" or one of the statements are false don't choose "All of the above". In a question with an "All of the above" choice, if you see that at least two correct statements, then "All of the above" is probably the answer. "None of the above" is usually an incorrect response, but this is less reliable than the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by double negatives. A positive choice is more likely to be true than a negative one. Usually the correct answer is the choice with the most information. Responses that use absolute words, such as "always" or "never" are less likely to be correct than ones that use conditional words like "usually" or "probably." "Funny" responses are usually wrong. Number answers: toss out the high and low and consider the middle range numbers "Look alike options" probably one is correct; choose the best but eliminate choices that mean basically the same thing, and thus cancel each other out Double negatives: Create the equivalent positive statement Echo options: If two options are opposite each other, chances are one of them is correct Favor options that contain qualifiers. The result is longer, more inclusive items that better fill the role of the answer If two alternatives seem correct, compare them for differences, then refer to the stem to find your best answer

Reading Comprehension Tests Reading comprehension questions are very common in English language arts tests. The student typically reads a selection of text and then exhibits comprehension and mastery of linguistic skills by answering multiple choice questions.

Approaching Reading Comprehension Tests Quickly read the questions before you read the selection. This should help you know what to look for in the passage. Utilize some sort of annotation system. To help you mark key sections or information in the text as you read. Focus on easier questions first. Then progress towards difficult questions.

Own the Text: Annotation Annotation is a big word for marking text so you can more easily use it later. Annotations should be centered upon helping you efficiently and quickly access information. Therefore you should annotate only the most important parts of the reading. The Following system may be useful in helping you mark information in the passage to help answer questions: Annotation Symbol Meaning or Significance Thesis or Main Point of the text ! An event, stat, or idea that you find significant ? Possible answer to a question (based upon pre-scanning the questions) (underlined text) Any idea that you believe supports the thesis.

Short Answer Tests Short answer questions generally probe a learner’s thinking skills by asking them to formulate a coherent written answer to a question. Short answer questions should typically be written in full-sentence format (especially in an English course).

Approaching Short Answer Tests Balance Quality and Quantity- Keep your answer brief enough to be short and long enough to answer the question. Identify what the question is asking you to do: define, explain, show relationship, give an example, calculate something, or graph something. Make sure your answer does what it should do. Answer all parts of the question. Sometimes questions have multiple parts Do something. Even if you have no idea, try to put something down on paper. Doing this gives you a shot at partial credit which is better than no credit.

Diagram Test Questions

Grammar Fix Questions

Matching Tests Matching sections are comprised of key concepts and definitions. The student is to match the concept to its correct meaning. Matching sections are often included in tests where students need to have a basic understanding of definitions of key concepts. Typically these types of questions center upon a student’s vocabulary knowledge or ability to identify key people or events.

Approaching Matching Sections Read over both the answers and their definitions before beginning. Start by matching the items that you are most confident belong together. Look for key words that link items together. Utilize the process of elimination to

True/ False Tests True/ false sections ask the student to identify a statement as true or false. Some true/false tests ask the student to identify which section of a false statement make it false and then insert a phrase to make the statement true.

Approaching True/False Sections Remember, a true answer must be completely true. If even one part of the statement is false, the statement is false. Pay attention to details; many times a single word will negate the truthfulness of a whole statement.

Essay Tests Essay questions are typically the most taxing of exam questions. They require the learner to decode the prompt, plan out an answer, and formulate an intelligent written response to the prompt. Students’ creative, analytical, and writing abilities are tested in these types of tests.

Approaching Essay Questions Identify what the prompt is asking you to do. Plan out your response before you begin writing. Write in order of importance to insure you get your best ideas out. Reread your response to check for possible grammatical, spelling, or content-based errors.

ABCD Approach to Essays A- Attack the Prompt Eliminate distractors, identify prompt words, identify prompt objects, and rewrite prompt. B- Brainstorm Possible Solutions Quickly list possible topics, choose the best topic, and chart your ideas for the topic. C- Choose Your Order of Response Number your chart in order of importance, begin writing your essay in basic essay format (intro, body, conclusion). D- Detect Errors Before Turning In Read your essay looking for problems, use the STAR fixes to remedy any problems you find.

Good Testing, My Friends!!!