Strategies for Taking Standardized Tests

‘Twas the Night Before Testing Make sure you get enough sleep. Review the CST prep materials in a timely manner.

The Morning of Testing Think Positive! Eat a good breakfast. Get to your testing site early. Listen to all testing directions carefully. Think Positive!

The Sleeping Cure! If you find yourself getting sleepy or distracted take a deep breath- hold the breath in for a count of four, then breath out for a count of eight. This will renew your supply of oxygen allowing you to think and remember better. Repeat this breathing exercise as many times as needed to remain wide awake and mentally fresh.

Pace Yourself Don’t spend too much time on any one question. Do your best, then move on. Answer all of the easiest questions first, then make sure to go back to the beginning and answer all of your skipped questions.

Multiple Choice Questions If you do not understand any of the directions, ask for immediate clarification. Read the question and apply a strategy that was reviewed the previous week. Do not change your first answer unless you are very certain about your new answer choice. Don’t leave any answer choices blank.

The Process of Elimination After you have read through the question, look through the answer choices and eliminate the answers that are far-fetched or obviously wrong. You have now increased your chances to find the correct answer. I know C isn’t the answer! I am the Eliminator!

Choose Wisely! The Art of Elimination! The more answers you eliminate, the better your chances! Number of choices eliminated Chances of choosing the correct answer 25% 1 33.3% 2 50% 3 100%

Identify Key Words Use the key words or phrases of the question to help you choose the correct answer. Circle the key words and numbers in a difficult question. This helps you stay focused on the central question.

Are we communicating? Make sure you understand what the question is asking. Be sure you are answering the question that is being asked.

More Tools- Predicting With a reading passage, try to formulate an answer before you read the choices. This helps avoid choosing appealing answers that only look right. Cover the answers with your hand. Read the question and predict the answer. Find the choice that most closely matches your prediction.

Reading Passages When there are several questions from a reading passage or chart, look for clues in the other questions that will help you answer the questions you are unsure about.

The Death Grip If your arm tires during testing it is probably due to the grip that you have on your pencil. Relax the grip and give those muscles a break.

Return and Check If you finish early, check to make sure you have answered all questions correctly and to the best of your ability.

Thank you, Mr. Know-it-all! Remember it's okay not to know everything — unlike class tests, these tests will have some questions designed to challenge the limits of your grade level knowledge.

Final Tips Fill in bubbles fully, write neatly, and erase stray marks. Relax Read carefully Respond with confidence