Bad At Standardized Tests? Follow These Tips
The SATs… ACTs… AP tests… They’re amongst the toughest tests you’ve taken to date, and odds are, they won’t be your last standardized tests. It’s easy to get psyched out when it feels like your future lies within a multiple choice bubble!
Leave it to these 5 test taking tips to steer you closer towards that perfect score:
1. Test Yourself Before Test Day
How many times have you taken a test and thought, “Oh let me do that just one more time!….” That’s because preparing with real-format questions is one of the best ways to prepare for a test, since it’s proven to improve your score over time. Even better, the more you struggle with a piece of information in practice mode, the more likely you are to remember it in the future.
Get in the habit of answering questions that someone else has chosen, written in the same style as your test (peruse DiagKNOWstics practice tests here)
2. Look Over the Test & Pace Yourself
The first person to complete their exam probably won’t score well, let’s just be honest about that. When you first get the exam, don’t just plunge into question #1 like everyone else. Take a deep breath and get to know your booklet.
How much reading lies ahead of you? Are some questions worth more points than others? Once you’ve looked through the entire test, you’ll be more confident in estimating how long you should spend on each question. Don’t forget to work towards leaving 10 minutes before the test period is over — you’ll want to work as long as you can, with juuuuuust enough time to check for mistakes.
3. Solve the Problem Before You Read Your Choices
If you can confidently answer the question without having to look at the choices, then it’s a fairly safe assumption that you got it right. When you do look at the choices and your answer appears, consider it a correct one.
Keep in mind, test-writers typically aren’t trying to trick you, so don’t second guess yourself!
4. Decide Whether Your Answer Makes Sense in the Sentence
If you’re unable to confidently solve the problem like mentioned above, narrow down your choices by ruling out answers that don’t seem to fit into the flow of the question. You’d be surprised how many false answers can be eliminated with a little logic!
Pro Tip: be very suspicious of choices that have “always” or “never” as these are rarely correct.
5. Check Your Answer Sheet Regularly!!!!!
I can’t tell you how important this is, because I made the mistake on my SAT tests. As you work through the sections, frequently check your answer sheet. Odds are, you’ve skipped a few questions with the intention of returning (or simply because you don’t know them)… It’s easy to fill in these blanks with a different question’s answer.
And even MORE importantly, if you absolutely don’t know the correct answer and can’t guess by elimination, skip the question altogether. You’ll actually lose points for incorrect answers.
#yourewelcome
