Test Taking Strategies for the Math CRCT

#1: Remember what you’ve learned!  You’ve worked so hard all year!  Remember the things you’ve learned in class!  Have confidence that you can do it!

#2: Use your time wisely.  Don’t spend too much time on any one question. Do your best and then move on.  Answers the easiest questions first, but be sure to go back to those questions you skipped. (Mark them in your booklet so you remember to go back to them and recheck your work.)

#3: Do the work and prove it to yourself!  Work out ALL the problems! Use your scratch paper! It’s worth the time and effort!  Solve the problems using more than one strategy to make sure you have the correct answer.

#4: Mark up your test booklet!  Remember, only the answers on your answer sheet are counted, but you CAN write in the book.  Draw on the diagrams in the booklet.  Solve the problems as they are written in the booklet.  Cross out answers you know are wrong.  Underline important information in the test questions.

#5: Read the test questions CAREFULLY!  Sometimes there are words like NOT and EXCEPT in the test question that change the way the question is answered. Pay attention to these.  Look for words such as ESTIMATE or ABOUT to let you know to use rounding or a close guess.

#6: Copy problems carefully!  When you write down problems to solve make sure you copy the numbers exactly as they’re written in the test booklet.  Make sure you line up the places in your numbers and work neatly to make sure your work is done correctly.

#7: Rework Problems You Miss  If the answer you get is not listed, look back over your work for errors.  Fix the errors and rework the problem.  If your answer still doesn’t match, make your best guess and mark in your test booklet that you need to come back to that problem at the end.

#8: Check your work.  Many math problems can be checked by using the opposite operation. Check addition with subtraction. Check subtraction with addition. Check multiplication with division. Check division with multiplication.  Use more than one strategy to check your work. Solve it another way.

#9: Think about the ACTION in the problem.  Don’t rely on key words only!  Think about the actions in the problems and what kind of operation matches that action.  Make sure the answer you get matches the action of the problem.

#10: Think about the reasonableness of your answer.  Look at and think about your answer. Just because it’s listed there, doesn’t mean it’s right! (Remember, 3 of the answers they’ll give you are wrong!)  Think about if your answer makes sense based on the situation of the problem.

#11: Draw pictures and diagrams!  Use your scratch paper and the room in your test booklet to draw pictures and diagrams to help solve and prove your work is correct.

#12: Use your test-taking strategies!  Come up with the answer in your head before looking at the possible responses. Then, the choices given on the test won’t throw you off.  Eliminate answer choices you know are incorrect.  Read all the choices before choosing your answer.

#13: Write down things you might forget!  Make up a sheet with all the formulas or vocabulary you need to know, and memorize all the formulas on the sheet.  When the test begins write down all the key formulas or ideas you think you’ll forget on your scratch paper so you won’t forget them. (Don’t do this until the test begins though!)

#14: Go back over your test when you’re done!  Go back and look for questions you marked in the test booklet as guesses or best guesses and redo these first.  Reread EVERY problem and review your work. Resolve to check your work if you have time.  Look for careless mistakes such as making sure the decimal is in the right place, that you read the directions correctly, that you copied the numbers correctly, that your arithmetic is correct and so on.

#15: Have confidence! You are ready! You can do it! You have what it takes to get the job done well!!!