Test Taking
Ch. 8 Strategies for Success in School
Preparation!
• How can preparation improve Test
Performance?
• “Ninety percent of life is just showing
up.”
• Woody Allen
• “By failing to prepare,
• you are preparing to fail.”
• ~ Benjamin Franklin
Preparation
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Attend class
Pay attention
Take good notes
Join a study group
1:3
Communicate with your
instructor
Preparation
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Test date
Study daily
Don’t procrastinate
Find all your stuff
Make it make sense
Preparation
• What will be
covered
• Ask for help
• A study place
• Take responsibility
• Be confident
Preparation
• Identify test type and material covered
– Topics that will be covered
– Types of questions
– Material you will be tested on
Preparation
• Use SQ3R to identify “What’s Important”
– Write your own test
Preparation
• READ
• WRITE
• REVIEW
• RECITE
Preparation
• Talk to people who already took the course
• Examine Old tests, IF the instructor makes
them available
• Create a study plan and schedule
Preparation
• Prepare through careful review
– Use SQ3R
– Review your notes
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Time your reviews carefully
Mark up
Organize
Summarize
Preparation
• Take a pretest
24 hours before the test
• Eat
• Exercise
• Sleep
‘Twas the Night Before Testing
• Go to bed on time.
• Pack your bag
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9.
Pencils
Eraser
Calculator
Scan tron
iClicker
Blue book
Watch
Sweater
Snack!
‘Twas the Night Before Testing
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Go to bed on time.
Pack your bag
Solve problems
Talk test concerns out
Preparation: Good morning!
• Start your day as you
always do.
• Eat a good breakfast.
• Think of what you will
do to relax after you get
home from school.
• Think Positive!
Preparation
• Make the most of last-minute studying
– Review flash cards
– Focus on crucial concepts
– Create a last-minute study sheet
– Arrive early
10 minutes before lift off…
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Go to the bathroom
Arrive
Choose your seat
Breath
Pep-talk
Test Anxiety
• How can you work through Test Anxiety?
• Test Anxiety: “A bad case of nerves that can
make it hard to think or to remember.”
Recognizing Stress & Anxiety:
Symptoms
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Pounding Heart
Shaking
Dizziness
Sweating Palms
Shortness of Breath
Headache
Irritability
Mental Blankness
Explaining Anxiety:
Fight or Flight
The Body’s Natural Response
to a Threat
to its
Physical Wellbeing Intellectual Wellbeing
Social Wellbeing
is to
Release Adrenalin
and
Cortisol
to Fight the Threat
or to
Flee from the Threat
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– See the test as an opportunity to learn
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Understand that tests measure performance, not
personal value
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Appreciate your instructor’s purpose
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Seek study partners who challenge you
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Set yourself up for success
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Practice relaxation
Test Anxiety
• Attitude
– Practice positive self-talk
What is self-talk?
A message we say about ourselves,
either out loud to a friend or
internally to ourselves.
We tend to
believe our
self-talk
messages.
Negative Self-Talk
About Test Taking
 “I’m scared to death.”
 “I don’t know this stuff.”
 “I know I’m going to
bomb.”
• Learn to stop these
negative messages.
 Don’t say them!!
 Don’t think them!!
• Positive Self-Talk About Test Taking
• “I did okay on my practice tests.”
• “I know this stuff.”
• “I got it right yesterday; I can get it
right today.”
• Positive self-talk doesn’t
mean you are a “genius”,
but that you have studied,
you know the content,
and you feel you can do
well on the test.
Self-Talk
Is
TRUE!!
• When it is time for testing, you may try
to fool others, but you can’t fool
yourself. Either you are ready, or you
are not. No amount of self-talk will
help if you are
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unprepared.
Test Anxiety
• DAY OF THE EXAM
– Review your study guide.
– Don’t cram
• Study Deeply
– Engage in a relaxed activity the last hour or two
before the exam
– Be prepared with necessary tools
– Avoid peers that are anxiety generators
Breathing deeply allows
you to take in more oxygen.
 More oxygen renews all
your systems, including
your brain!
Deep breathing directly
counters anxiety and tight
muscles.
 Deep breathing lowers
tension and reminds you to
relax.
Control the cortisol by fooling your
Limbic Brain
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Humor
Time Management
Posture Message
Breathing
Going to Your Fantasy Place
Healthy Lifestyle
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Nourish your Brain
Exercise your Brain
Rest your brain
Happily Ever Laughter
• Laughing releases the feel good hormone – endorphin- also a
natural pain killer.
• Laughing lowers your blood pressure and heart rate.
• Laughing raises T-lymphocytes in your body.
• Increases your immune system .
• There is a 45 minutes residual chemical effect in your body
after hearty laughter.
Posture Message:
Tells your limbic system everything is fine.
• Sit confidently
• Hold your head up
• Smile or Chuckle to
yourself
Breathing: Don’t Forget!
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Best exchange of Oxygen
occurs in the bottom one
third of your lungs.
Slowly
Breath in through the
nose to count of 4
Breath Out through the
mouth to count of 4
Test Taking Strategies
• What General Strategies can help
you succeed on tests?
Test Taking Strategies
• Write down key facts
– Mind Dump
Test Taking Strategies
• Begin with an overview
LOOK OVER THE
TEST AND PACE
YOURSELF
When you first get the test,
don’t just plunge into
answering test items.
Thumb through …
Get the lay of the land.
How many questions?
How many sections?
Are some questions
worth more points than
others?
Pace yourself to finish with 10 minutes
left over.
√ for careless mistakes
√ skipped questions
√ misread items
Test Taking Strategies
• Read test directions
– If you do not understand the directions, ask for
help.
Test Taking Strategies
• Mark up the questions
– Express difficult questions in your own words.
“Jail” the Detail!
• Highlight, underline, or
circle the details in the
questions. This helps
you focus on exactly
what the question is
asking you to do.
Mr. Detail
Traps and tricks you need to know.
• Don’t get lured into a charming answer –
What is the amount of an American coin that is
greater in value than a nickel ($.05) ?
A. $.06
B. $.07
C. $.08
D. $.09
E. $.10
• The answer is (E), but it is easy to get tricked by
(A) if you do not read the entire piece and pay
close attention to what the question is asking.
Test Taking Strategies
• Take special care on machine-scored tests
Be a Whiz…with the Grid!
• Beware! If the
answer is not
bubbled in exactly
right… YIKES! It
will be wrong!
Test Taking Strategies
• Work from easy to hard
Keep On Keeping On!
• If you get to a
couple of questions
that you just don’t
know, don’t give up!
Keep trying your
best!
Don’t Skip Around
• There is a difference in skipping
around and going on to the next item
on a test when you are unsure of the
answer for the current item.
Test Taking Strategies
• Watch the clock
Pace Yourself
• Don’t spend too much time on any one
question.
• Answers the easiest questions first
• Use all of the time allotted for the test.
Take Short Breaks
 Stop for a moment
 Shut your eyes
 Take some deep breaths
Test Taking Strategies
• Master the Art of intelligent guessing
“Remember”
You receive
NO POINTS
for being the
FIRST ONE
to complete the test!!
Ask a questions
• Ask for clarification during a test
Skip, Return, Check
• If you finish early, check to make sure
you have answered all questions.
A Matter of Time
• As you go back through, do not change all
answers.
• Remember: Your first guess is usually
right.
If you SNOOZE, You will LOSE!
• Don’t leave a
question
unanswered. You
will not have ANY
chance of getting it
right.
Test Taking Strategies
• Maintain academic integrity