Test Taking A Critical Educational Skill

It’s a Life Skill! Preparation and Positive Attitude – – Key elements Focus! So what’s the plan?

Student Preparation Believe you can do well! Make a Plan – –Organize materials and study – –Be in all your classes for the reviews The Night Before: – –Do a quick review and get to bed early

Preparing for Challenge The Morning of the Test The Morning of the Test –Don't skip breakfast –Get to school early and do a ten-minute power study right before the test –Bring a book

Obvious Guidance Answer the easiest ones first Answer the easiest ones first Guess aggressively Guess aggressively –If you don't know an answer, don't leave the question blank or guess randomly –Eliminate the choices you know are wrong; then make an educated guess from the remaining, and

it’s usually true that… Multiple Choice are set up to have Multiple Choice are set up to have –Two completely wrong answers and –Two others – one close and one totally correct chance with True/False chance with True/False Essays require some organization Essays require some organization You may need some suggestions: Test Taking Tips - Study skills Test Taking Tips - Study skills Test Taking Tips - Study skills Test Taking Tips - Study skills

Test Types Multiple Choice Multiple Choice True – False True – False Fill-in-the-Blank Fill-in-the-Blank Matching Matching Essay Questions Essay Questions Open Book Open Book

Multiple Choice How to Handle Multiple Choice carefully and try to decide what the answer is before reading any of the options Read the whole question carefully and try to decide what the answer is before reading any of the options, then choose the one that most closely matches your answer. Read all of the answer options, then choose the one that most closely matches your answer. When unsure, When unsure, eliminate answers that are clearly incorrect., If forced to guess, choose the longest, most detailed answer.

Multiple Choice Tips Don't keep on changing your answer – –Usually your first choice is the right one, unless you misread the question. "None of the above" choices – –If you’re certain one of the statements is true, don't choose "None of the above" In "All of the above" choices – –If one of the statements is false, don't choose "All of the above"

More Multiple Choice Tips If there is an "All of the above" option and you know that at least two of the choices are correct, then select the "All of the above" choice A positive choice is more likely to be true than a negative one Usually the correct answer is the choice with the most information

True-False Circle key words in the question Remember: If any part of the answer is false, the whole thing is false. Watch for words like "never," "always,“ "every," "all," "none," and "only“ - they generally indicate a false answer Rarely leave a blank — a guess has a chance of being right!

Fill-in-the-Blank Read the sentence carefully for about the type of information needed Read the sentence carefully for clues about the type of information needed –For example, look for person's name, number, fact Watch for grammar clues – For example, the word "an" before the blank indicates that the answer starts with a vowel. Notice the in the sentence Notice the type of blanks in the sentence –One short blank calls for a single word answer; a longer blank indicates a longer answer, such as a phrase

Matching Scan the whole column of possible matches – –Don’t stop at the first likely answer! Answer the questions you’re sure of first Cross out choices as you use them Keep going through the columns to make more matches Avoid guessing until you’re absolutely stumped

Essay Questions Before writing, make an outline or graphic to: – –Organize main ideas and facts to include in essay Focus on only one idea per paragraph State the main point in the first sentence of each paragraph Avoid unsupported statements – –Include relevant details and examples Proof read your work!

Open Book Prepare a sheet with important facts or formulas Prepare a sheet with important facts or formulas –Avoid spending time looking them up Mark important pages with sticky notes or paper clips Mark important pages with sticky notes or paper clips Practice using the index to look up specific topics Practice using the index to look up specific topics Skip questions when the answer can't be found quickly Skip questions when the answer can't be found quickly – Mark them to come back to later from the book! Do not copy from the book! –Use the book as a guide to write answers in your own words

What will I do if … I'm Stuck! Don't get worried or frustrated Reread the question to make sure you understand it; then try to solve it the best way you know how If you're still stuck, circle it and move on – –Don’t forget to come back to it later Review your options and make the best guess you can

I'm Done! Not so fast! There is more to do! Use all the time you need and go back to review your answers Make sure that you didn't make any careless mistakes (such as putting the right answer in the wrong place or skipping a question) Spend the last remaining minutes going over the hardest problems before you turn in your test

Some Advice Help students relax–set the “tone” for success Help students relax–set the “tone” for success –Classical Music? Smiling face? Take Breaks Take Breaks –Students need to stretch and refocus –Allow for snack ( they may have missed breakfast) Advise students to use all the time they need Advise students to use all the time they need –Suggest they must focus on test for majority of allotted test time If necessary, have creative fillers or allow to read If necessary, have creative fillers or allow to read

References/Cited Work Test-Taking Tips - SchwabLearning.org Test-Taking Tips - SchwabLearning.org Test-Taking Tips - SchwabLearning.org Test-Taking Tips - SchwabLearning.org Multiple Choice Tests Multiple Choice Tests Multiple Choice Tests Multiple Choice Tests Ten Tips for Test Taking Ten Tips for Test Taking Ten Tips for Test Taking Ten Tips for Test Taking Top Ten Test-Taking Tips for Students - TeacherVision.com Top Ten Test-Taking Tips for Students - TeacherVision.com Top Ten Test-Taking Tips for Students - TeacherVision.com Top Ten Test-Taking Tips for Students - TeacherVision.com Tips on Taking Multiple-Choice Tests Tips on Taking Multiple-Choice Tests Tips on Taking Multiple-Choice Tests Tips on Taking Multiple-Choice Tests Article from (page 12) Article from Measure Up (page 12) Article from (page 12) Article from Measure Up (page 12)