Office of Student Affairs
Test Taking Strategies
Workshop
Objectives
1. Strengthen effective test preparation
techniques.
2. Provide additional strategies to improve
test taking skills.
3. Apply effective strategies to actual test
questions.
Stress
• Pressure to perform well (from
self and/or others)
• Lack of adequate study time
(work, family, too many
courses)
• Fear of unknown or
preconceived notions about test
difficulty
Within seconds ~
• Muscles tense
• Blood pressure rises
• Stress hormones are
released…
From Stress to
Anxiety
• Student begins to fear test
before time to take it
• Fear reaches highest point at
time to take the actual test
From Anxiety to
Anguish
• Difficulty breathing
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mental “blank-out”
What can you do??
Is it hopeless?
• Even the best
performers get
stage fright –
• Think of Olympic
Athletes – you are
one!
What not to do: Failure to
practice with sample test
questions before taking exam.
What not to do: Letting
fear paralyze you.
How to Mentally Prepare
• Begin
with picturing success
• Anti-stress techniques
• Aim for top physical shape
• Practice makes perfect
• Mental attitude & performance
More solutions …
• Progressive relaxation can be
performed
• While sitting at a desk
• In only two or three
minutes time
Benefits LATER
• Less stress
• Less back and neck pain
• Fewer headaches
The secret of getting ahead
is getting started. The
secret of getting started is
breaking your complex
overwhelming tasks into
small manageable
tasks, and then starting on
the first one.
Mark Twain, American
How do you prepare for tests?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Study guides
Re-writing
Note cards
Reading aloud
Acronyms
Study group
Compare notes with text
Recording lectures
• System to weed out what
you know/what you don’t
• Environment
• Motivation/reward
• Mind maps
• Understand concept first,
then details
• Nutrition/exercise/sleep
What is the difference between
CON Tests and Previous Tests?
• Critical thinking component.
• More understanding of the concepts and
application of clinical and course material
to answer a scenario based question.
NCLEX RN Questions
Two or three-step thought processes:
• What is wrong? (Diagnose the patient).
• What can be done? (Identify
treatments/actions).
• What should be your initial action? (Apply your
knowledge plus critical thinking).
• What is the order of importance? (Prioritize
the actions, i.e.: you are given four patients,
which do you attend first, second, etc.?).
Test-Taking Clues
Multiple-Choice Test Clues
Read directions carefully.
• Know if each question has one or more
correct options.
• Know how much time is involved.
Preview the test.
• Read test quickly, answer easiest ques.
first.
Multiple Choice Test Clues (Continued)
Read test second time & answer more
difficult questions.
• You may pick up cues from first reading,
become more comfortable.
• If time allows, review both questions &
answers. It is possible you miss-read
questions the first time.
Strategies for Difficult
Questions
Improve your odds, think critically:
1. Cover options, read the stem & try
to answer.
2. Select option that most closely
matches your answer.
3. Read the stem with each option.
4. Treat each option as a true-false
question, and choose the “most
true.”
Strategies for Difficult Questions
(Continued)
5. Eliminate options you know to be incorrect.
6. Question options that grammatically don’t fit with
the stem.
7. Question options that are totally unfamiliar to
you.
8. Question options that contain negative or
absolute words. (Try subbing a qualified term
for an absolute one ~ frequently for always or
typical for every to see if you can eliminate it).
More Strategies
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
“All of the Above:” If two or more seem
correct, “all of the above is a strong
possibility.
Number answers: Toss out high and low
and consider middle range numbers.
Look alike options: Probably one is correct,
choose the best but eliminate choices that
mean basically the same thing thus cancel
each other out.
Double negatives: Create the equivalent
positive statement and consider.
Echo options: If two options are opposite of
each other, chance are one of them is
correct.
Test Strategies
14. Favor options that contain qualifiers: The
result is longer, more inclusive items that
better fill the role of the answer.
15. If two alternatives seem correct, compare
them for differences, then refer to the
stem to find your best answer.
16. Use hints from words you know in both
stem and options.
17. Remember, you are looking for the BEST
ANSWER.
Ready for sample test question?
Let’s dive right in!
A young diabetic woman is in her first trimester of
pregnancy. As the pregnancy continues the nurse
should anticipate which change in her medication
needs?
a)
b)
c)
d)
A decrease in the need for short-acting insulins
A steady increase in insulin requirements
Oral hypoglycemic drugs will be given several times
daily
The variable pattern throughout the pregnancy
requires constant close adjustment
Family Feud
Which of the following is not an example of
primary disease prevention measures?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Hand washing
Immunizations
Sunscreen usage
Annual mammogram
You have a patient admitted with a fever of
unknown origin. Which of the following would be
the initial focus of your nursing assessment?
a)
b)
c)
d)
The client’s primary concern
The medical diagnosis
The nursing diagnosis
The family’s perception and concerns
The nurse is caring for a client diagnosed with
pneumonia who is having shortness of breath and
difficulty breathing. Which intervention should the
nurse implement first?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Take the client’s vital signs
Check the client’s pulse oximeter reading
Elevate the head of the client’s bed
Notify the respiratory specialist STAT
Patient adaptations that are both unexpected in
response to the general adaptation syndrome are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Dilated pupils and bradycardia
Mental alertness and tachycardia
Increased blood glucose and tachycardia
Decreased blood glucose and bradycardia
Bonus Question
Team wager on last
question.
A client who is pregnant is being prepared for a
pelvic examination. The client complains of feeling
very tired and sick to her stomach, especially in
the morning. The best response for the nurse to
make is:
a)
b)
c)
d)
“Perhaps you might ask the doctor about it.”
“This is common. There is no need to worry.”
“Can you tell me how you feel in the morning?”
“Let’s discuss some ways to deal with these
common problems.”
Additional Resources
• http://www.nursing.arizona.edu/Academic
StudentSupport.htm
• Sue Habkirk –
shabkirk@nursing.arizona.edu
• 626-3808