Tips for Better Test Taking

When you take a test,
you are demonstrating your ability to understand course material or perform certain tasks.  Successful test taking avoids carelessness.

Examples of objective tests are true-false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank.

Examples of subjective texts are short answer, essay, or oral exams

NB:  If you have any doubts about the fairness of tests, 
or of the ability of tests to measure your performance, 
please see your academic counseling service.

These suggestions may help you avoid careless errors!

Prepare:

• Arrive early for tests
  Bring all the materials you will need such as pencils and pens, a calculator, a dictionary, and a watch. 
  This helps you focus on the task at hand
• Be comfortable but alert
  Choose a good spot and make sure you have enough room to work, maintain comfortable posture but don't "slouch"
• Stay relaxed and confident
  Remind yourself that you are well-prepared and are going to do well.  If you find yourself anxious, take several slow, deep breaths to relax
  Don't talk about the test to other students just before it; anxiety is contagious

Test Taking:

• Read the directions carefully
  This may be obvious, but it will help you avoid careless errors
  If there is time, quickly look through the test for an overview
  Note key terms, jot down brief notes
• Answer questions in a strategic order:
  1. First easy questions
     to build confidence, score points, and mentally orient yourself to vocabulary, concepts, and your studies (it may help you make associations with more difficult questions)
  2. Then difficult questions or those with the most point value
     With objective tests, first eliminate those answers you know to be wrong, or are likely to be wrong, don't seem to fit, or where two options are so similar as to be both incorrect
     With essay/subjective questions, broadly outline your answer and sequence the order of your points

   

• Review:
  Resist the urge to leave as soon as you have completed all the items
  Review your test to make sure that you have answered all questions, not mis-marked the answer sheet, or made some other simple mistake
  Proofread your writing for spelling, grammar, punctuation, decimal points, etc.

  Do not "second-guess" yourself and change your original answers.
  Research has indicated that your first hunch is more likely to be correct.
  You should only change answers to questions if you originally misread them or if you have encountered information elsewhere in the test that indicates with certainty that your first choice is incorrect.

Analyze your test results
Each test can further prepare you for the next test.
Use your tests to review when studying for final exams

Decide on and adopt study strategies that worked best for you
Identify those that didn't work well and replace them.

Multiple Choice Tests

Multiple choice questions usually include a phrase or stem
followed by three to five options:

Test strategies:

• Read the directions carefully
• Know if each question has one or more correct option
• Know if you are penalized for guessing
• Answer easy questions first

Answering options
Improve your odds, think critically:

Cover the options, read the stem, and try to answer
Select the option that most closely matches your answer

Read the stem with each option
Treat each option as a true-false question, and choose the "most true"

Strategies to answer difficult questions:

• Eliminate options you know to be incorrect
• Question options that grammatically don't fit with the stem
• Question options that are totally unfamiliar to you
• Question options that contain negative or absolute words.
  Try substituting a qualified term for the absolute one, like frequently for always; or typical for every to see if you can eliminate it
• "All of the above:"
  If you know two of three options seem correct, "all of the above" is a strong possibility
• Number answers:
  toss out the high and low and consider the middle range numbers
• "Look alike options"
  probably one is correct; choose the best but eliminate choices that mean basically the same thing, and thus cancel each other out
• Echo options:
  If two options are opposite each other, chances are one of them is correct
• Favor options that contain qualifiers
  The result is longer, more inclusive items that better fill the role of the answer
• If two alternatives seem correct,
  compare them for differences,
  then refer to the stem to find your best answer

Guessing:

• Always guess when there is no penalty
  for guessing or you can eliminate options
• Don't guess if you are penalized
  for guessing and if you have no basis for your choice
• Don't change your answers
  unless you are sure of the correction
• Use hints from questions you know
  to answer questions you do not.