1. TEST TAKING SKILLS

7. Be a Speedier Reader Get Flexible:
Careful, analytical reading ( WPM). Textbook material- stuff you’ll be tested on later.
Rapid reading ( WPM). If the material is easy for you, if you already know a lot about the subject, and if you’re not going to be tested on it, go ahead and read quickly. Magazine articles, newspapers…
Skimming (up to 1500 WPM). Preview a chapter, zip through a newspaper article, or race through a magazine piece using this reading rate. Your eyes may stop on a word here or there, or a paragraph that’s especially interesting to you.
Scanning (up to 3000 WPM). Use this supersonic rate to find a name in a telephone book, a word in a dictionary, a movie in the TV guide, or the answer to a textbook question after you’ve already read a chapter.

8. Be a Speedier Reader – cont’d
Break Bad Habits:
Do you point your finger at every word? Do you move you lips?These habits can slow you down. Instead, hold a card under every line as you read it.
Do you always go back and reread? Sometimes this can improve your comprehension. But you shouldn’t have to read everything twice. Try highlighting or take notes. Do something! This will help you to focus your attention
Do you read every word on the page? It’s much faster and more efficient to read in word groups. Don’t let your eyes stop on every word, instead focus on three to four words at a time.

9. Be a Speedier Reader – cont’d
Practice:
Try the four reading rates with different materials. Get a feel for each one. You’ll soon discover which to use when.
Mark off 100 words and time yourself when you read. Use a stopwatch. Start with articles that are easy for you . Try to remember what you read.
Practice rapid reading on a newspaper article, magazine article, or short story. Write a two or three sentence summary.
Skim a newspaper or magazine article. Write a one-sentence summary.

10. Be a Speedier Reader – Practice cont’d
5. Scan the telephone book for your name and your friends’ names. Scan sports articles for high-action verbs.
6. Read mysteries. Trying to solve “whodunits” will speed up your reading rate.
7. Gradually move on to more difficult material. Try reading your textbook pages a little faster, but make sure that you can mentally summarize each page before you go on to the next.
8. Try word-group reading a newspaper, where the columns are thin and the words group naturally.

32. Multiple Choice Questions
Read all choices before picking an answer.
Use the process of elimination. If you know that “b”, “d” and “e”, are wrong, then answer must be “a” or “c”.
When in doubt, guess. Your guess may be right; leaving a blank won’t be.
If one choice is much longer than the rest, and it seems likely to be right, go with it. Longer answers tend to be right more often than shorter answers.

33. Multiple Choice Questions
If two of the choices are exact opposites, pick one of them.
Example: What happens when you add salt to water before boiling it?
It turns the hydrogen in the water to helium.
It makes the water boil faster.
It makes the water boil slower.
It turns to salt crystals
Nothing happens.
Notice that “b” and “c” are opposites. Pick “b”.
When you don’t have a clue what the right answer is, pick “c” first. If you think “c” may be wrong, pick “b” or “d”. Teachers like to sandwich the right answer between other choices, so avoid “a” or “e”.

34. What If You’re Not Sure of Your Answer?
You read the question and quickly write an answer that you think is right. But you’re not positive it’s right. What should you do? Many people would say, “Leave it. Your first impression is best.” But a University of Michigan professor says, “Change it.”
Dr. Frank Whitehouse did a study on test turned in by more than 1,000 of his students over the past ten years. He looked for eraser marks and other signs that students had changed over their answers. He found that students changed from wrong to right answers 2.5 times as often as they changed from right to wrong.
After you answer a question, you may find that later questions contain clues to the first question. Or you may remember an important fact later in the test. Or you may just think twice about your first answer, and feel strongly that you should change it. Don’t let superstition about “first impressions” hold you back.

35. STAY SHARP! Relax. Take a deep breath.
Read all the directions – carefully.
Don’t be afraid to ask the teacher to explain any directions you don’t understand.
Read all the answer choices—even if you spot the correct answer right away
Skip over questions you can’t answer quickly, then go back later.
Take your time—it’s not a race.
Proofread your answers before you hand in your paper.
Go for the extra credit!

37. Five Ways to Conquer Test Anxiety
Memorize important facts, figures, formulas, and dates ahead of time.
Practice the test-taking strategies in this section. The more prepared you are, the less anxious you’ll feel.
If you start getting anxious, take a brief relaxation break. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Think about tensing, then relaxing, every part of your body from toes to the top of your head.
If other students finish before you do, ignore them. It’s a myth that top students finish first, average students finish in the middle, and poor students finish last.
If you finish early, use the time to check your answers.

38. Five Ways to Conquer Test Anxiety - continued
If other students finish before you do, ignore them. It’s a myth that top students finish first, average students finish in the middle, and poor students finish last.
If you finish early, use the time to check your answers.