TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES
How should you attack the SOL test?
Before the Test
 Read through any material(s) your teacher gives you
 Take practice tests
 Go to bed at a reasonable hour (11pm) 
 Eat breakfast in the morning
 Get to school on time so you don’t feel rushed
 Go to the bathroom before you sit down 
During the Test
 USE THE TOOLS!!
 Pointer: use the “mouse” icon to select answer choices
 Highlighter: use the highlighter to mark up key concepts or to
mark areas of the passage that pertains to a specific question.
 Eliminator: mark out answers that you KNOW are not right so
that your eye doesn’t constantly read over them.
 Pencil: make marks on the test questions.
 Eraser: erase highlights or pencil marks.
 Help/Life Preserver: display info. about the tools on the toolbar
 Think about what the answer might be FIRST, then look at
your answer choices
Answer Choices
 Look at ALL of the answer choices before choosing one
 Start with choice D. The most inviting wrong answer falls to
A some times.
Test-Taking Strategies
 Try to eliminate some
answer choices you know
are wrong.
 Use information in other
questions on the test to
help you.
 Analyze charts and maps
carefully! They contain all
the information you need
to answer the questions.
 Use your scratch paper to
make notes about reading
passages as well as
questions.
 Read each question
CAREFULLY! Make sure
you know what you are
being asked BEFORE you
answer.
 Don’t be afraid to skip a
question, but make sure
you answer them all!
Other Strategies
 Rely on your first impressions.
 The answer which comes to mind first is often correct
 Nervously reviewing questions and changing answers can do more harm than
good
 Return to difficult questions you marked for review
 Make sure you answered all questions
Other Strategies
 Keep a positive attitude. Decide to do your best and focus on the material
you know.
 Concentrate on the test. Don't worry about your ability, the behavior of
other people, the number of questions, or even short memory lapses.
 Relax as much as you can. If you're too nervous to think or read carefully,
try to slow down physically. Take several slow, deep breaths. Then start to
work.
Other Strategies
 Answer the easiest questions first.You'll feel more confident, and you may
also find some helpful ideas for the more difficult questions.
 Read each test question carefully. If you don't understand what is being
asked, skip it and come back to it later.
 Before you submit, review the test questions and your answers to them.
Make any changes you think are important, but don't change your answers
unless you have a good reason to do so.
 Think if any of the later questions gave you information that might clear up
things you weren't sure about.
Other Strategies
 Some questions will tell you to look for the answer choice that is correct.
 Some questions will tell you to look for the answer choice that has a
mistake.
 Look for CUE WORDS
 A CUE WORD is a word in the test question that tells you what to look for in
the answer.
 Sometimes cue words are written in all CAPITAL LETTERS. They may be
printed in bold, italics, or underlined.
Cue Words
 Some cue words you may see on the SOL Test:
-------------------------------------------------------------------- NOT
For both of these words, you are to find
 All…EXCEPT
the answer that is unlike the others
------------------------------------------------------------------- Which MOST LIKELY
If you see one of these words, you are to
 Which…BEST
find the answer that is the most logical
or makes the most sense.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAST
When you see this word, you are to find the
answer that is the least logical or makes the
least sense.
BREATHE
 All we ask is that you try to do your best.
 Smile when it is over and believe in yourself and your
abilities
Let’s try out our new strategies!
 Sample SOL questions will be on the board. Identify the test-
taking strategies you would use to answer each question!