Students receive little instruction of how to take tests. The following provides a description of test taking strategies students can use to improve their performance on tests.
I. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY
A. Circle the important words or main focus of the question.
B. Draw, sketch, or mark a diagram to help visualize the problem being solved.
II. PACING
A. Decide how much time should be spent on each section. Don't get bogged down on difficult questions.
B. Allow time for review.
III. TWO SUCCESSFUL OVERALL APPROACHES
A. The "Plus-Minus" System - Uses (+) and (-) symbols to respond to a question intelligently and use your time effectively.
1. Answer easy questions immediately.
2.When you come to a question that seems "impossible" to answer, mark a large minus sign (-) next to it on your test booklet.
3. Then mark a "guess" answer on your Scantron answer sheet and move on to the next question.
4. When you come to a question that seems solvable but appears too time consuming, mark a large plus sign (+) next to that question in your test and register a guess answer on your answer sheet. Then move on to the next question.
But don't waste time deciding whether a question is a "+" or a "-." Act quickly, as the intent of this strategy is to save you valuable time. After working all the easy questions, your test should look something like this:
1.
2.+
3.
4.-
5.+
etc.
5. After working all the problems you can do immediately in that section (the easy ones), go back and work your "+" problems. Change your "guess" on your answer sheet, if necessary, for those problems you are able to work.
6. If you finish working your "+" problems and still have time left, you can either:
a) Attempt those "-" questions--the ones that you considered "impossible." Sometimes a problem later in that section will "trigger" your memory and you'll be able to go back and answer one of the earlier "impossible" problems.
or
b) Don't bother with those "impossible" questions. Rather, spend your time reviewing your work to be sure you didn't make any careless mistakes on the questions you thought were easy to answer.
REMEMBER: You do not have to erase the pluses and minuses you made on your test booklet. And be sure to fill in all your answer spaces on the Scantron sheet - if necessary, with a guess. It makes no sense to leave an answer space blank.
B. The Elimination Strategy - is a strategy which helps reduce the number of choices thus increasing the chance of a correct answer.
1. Read the question and possible answers.
2. As you eliminate an answer choice from consideration, make sure to mark it out in the test question.
3. Put a question mark (?) next to answers which are still being considered.
4. The test question responses should be marked in the following manner:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)?
5. This technique will help avoid reconsidering those choices you have already eliminated. It will also help you narrow down your possible answers.
