A Test? No Sweat!

Test Taking Skills:Achieving Success

Test-Taking “Do’s and Don’ts”

• Do organize all of your materials before you start to study.

• Do start studying several days in advance so that you have time to review difficult concepts and ask your teacher for help.

• Do look over the test before you start to answer any questions.

• Do answer the easiest questions first.• Do answer all of the questions if you have

time.

• Do look for help from other questions. Sometimes one question will “give away” the answer to another.

• Do check your work before you turn it in so that you can catch careless errors.

• Don’t cram! You may forget everything you study after the first few minutes. You may “blank out” on the test.

• Don’t forget to read all of the directions very carefully. You don’t want to be penalized for a mistake in procedure.

• Don’t waste time on a question you can’t answer. You may run out of time to answer questions you know.

• Don’t change an answer unless you are very sure that your first choice isn’t correct.

• Don’t rush through the test.

Preparing for and Taking Tests: Objective Questions

How can you become “test-wise”? Learn skills involved in understanding various test questions and kinds of answers they require.

Each question requires its own skills for you to convey what you know about the question through the format of that question.

There are four main kinds of objective questions:

1. Multiple Choice

2. Matching

3. Short Answer

4. True/ False

Why are multiple choice and matching easier?

Read over all choices before deciding on an answer.

Use Process of elimination.

What other information can you gather from the actual question that could help you narrow the choices?

Example: Multiple ChoiceProcess of Elimination

Anne Hutchinson was driven from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because she taught people:

A. To live by the Golden Rule.

B. How to buy a good used car.

C. Survival skills in desert climates.

D. To stand up for their beliefs, come what may.

Use the same process of elimination steps for the following questions:

1. George Washington’s false teeth were made of

a. soap b. plastic c. iron d. wood e. aluminum foil

2. If both the President and the Vice President of the United States were to die, who would become President?

a. the Speaker of the House

b. the governor of California

c. Abraham Lincoln

d. the Queen of England

3. Most people in the United States commute to work in/on:

a. airplanes b. busses and trains c. boats d. cars e. bicycles

Matching

You can use process of elimination on matching also.

Tips:

1. Complete the matches you do know.

2. Use letters only once (unless the directions tell you otherwise).

3. Cross off the choices you used.

Example:

4. Chicago ____ Maine

5. New York ____ Texas

6. Bangor ____ Illinois

7. Ukiah ____ New York

8. Amarillo ____ California

True ~ False

**** BE CAREFUL WITH STATEMENTS THAT HAVE ONE PART TRUE AND ONE PART FALSE. IF ANY PART OF A STATEMENT IS FALSE, THEN IT IS A FALSE STATEMENT*****

EXAMPLE: The sun is bigger than the moon, and the moon is bigger than the earth.

Example Quiz: Preparing For and Taking Tests

1. It is helpful to know what kind of test your teacher is going to give you.

2. Teachers almost never give clues beforehand about what is going to be on a test.

3. People learn most efficiently by studying for one long period of time the night before a test.

4. It’s ok to stay up late watching TV the night before a test and to skip breakfast to make up for the lack of sleep.

5. You should begin to answer the questions as soon as the teacher has handed you the test.

6. Read all of the directions carefully and follow them exactly.

7. Guess whenever you don’t know the answer unless there is a penalty for guessing.

8. Do the hardest questions first. That way you’ll get them out of the way.

9. Don’t second guess yourself when going over your answers. Trust your first judgment unless new information comes up.

Test Taking Tips for Math

• Read through the question carefully: If you try to start solving the problem before reading it all the way through, you may end up doing unnecessary work. Make sure you know exactly what is being asked.

• Decide whether to do the problem or skip it for now: If you have no idea what to do, skip the problem. Spend your time on the problems you can solve.

• If you get stuck, make an educated guess: If you are not sure what to do, or if you tried solving a problem but got stuck, cut your losses. Eliminate whatever choices you can and then guess.

• Calculator Tips: Think first. Know your calculator Decide on the best way to solve the problem. Only then, use your calculator Make sure you follow the order of operations.

Preparing For and Taking Tests: Essay Questions

• An essay question requires the same skills that you use to write a paragraph.

• An essay question asks you to write at least one paragraph and often several paragraphs during the test time itself.

• An essay question usually asks you to organize what you know and understand about a topic and then to express it in a way that responds to that particular question.

• Most essay questions focus on ideas and understandings, not on facts. Yet, you need to include facts in your essay answers when the facts are supporting details that prove your points.

Example Question: Discuss the transformation Scrooge’s character goes through as a result of his experiences with the three spirits.

How To Organize Your Essay Test Answer

Read the question carefully. Rephrase the question into a statement. That will be the topic or thesis statement of your response.

Jot down a brief outline or web of your answer.

Write your answer. Don’t forget a concluding sentence.

Read it over carefully and make any corrections or necessary changes if you have time.

Essay Test Answers

Don’t forget a topic sentence: Think LA Class! Expository format! Rephrase the question into a statement.

Example: Prompt: Using details from Scrooge’s past,

discuss what might have caused his negative attitude about Christmas.

“There are several events from Scrooge’s past that might have caused his negative attitude about Christmas.”

How To Use Your Time

• Divide the time according to how many essay questions you have to answer and how much time you have.

• Example: 20 minutes to write one answer.

Thinking and outlining – 5 minutes.

Writing the essay – 13 minutes.

Reading/Revising/Correcting – 2 minutes

Sample ISAT 8th Grade Reading Test

Tips:

Always reread directions

Read introductory material

Remember, you can go back over the passage as much as you want.

If a word is underlined, the “test makers” are trying to see if you know what that word means or its context.

http://electron-net.eztest.eppg.com/ISBE/Reading/8th

Critical Reading Strategies

• Critical reading questions have a specific order: The first few questions ask about the beginning of

the passage, the last few about the end.• Most reading passages are composed of one big idea

and then supporting details.

Five Step Method to Find Your Answer:o Read the question (and all of your answer choices).–

Ex: What’s the main point of the passage. o Locate the material you needo Re-scan the answer choiceso Select your answer

On a piece of loose-leaf, in ink, respond to the test taking strategies you learned about today. What new things did you pick up that you might use the next time you take a test? Be specific in your explanations and examples.