Test Taking Strategies

You could put in all the time studying and preparing for your content exams but test anxiety can derail all of that. Below are some strategies and resources that can hopefully help you overcome any test anxiety you might be feeling. Do you have additional tips & tricks that you use to help? Reach out to Garrett so he can add them here!

Preparation and Strategies

Practice Practice Practice

Utilize the study resources that Teach For America provides. Start with the recommend resources and gauge your understanding of the material. Use practice questions and quizzes to identify what are your areas of strength and areas for growth. Using those areas for growth, spend the majority of your time practicing with that content to improve your scores in that area.

Reach out for help!

You are not in this alone! Utilize slack and your peers to setup study groups and prepare together. Reach out to Garrett if you need a study buddy, want to develop a detailed study plan together, or if you feel like you need more study resources. As corps members start passing their exams we will be positioning them to share their experience and best practices with others. We encourage you to ask questions and talk through your concerns with them. Not question or request is too small!

Read the whole dang question

Who here reads the question way too quickly? Who here reads a question, thinks they know the answer, stops reading half-way through, and then answers incorrectly because they missed a key word? I definitely raised my hand. Do yourself a favor and read the ENTIRE question so you know exactly what they’re looking for. If it helps you then you could read the answer choices first and then the question but make sure you’re reading everything available to you. Or you could cover up the answers, read the question, and try to come up with the answer on your own. Whichever actual answer choice is closest to your guess could be the way to go.

Be aware of certain phrases

• Be aware of words like “always,” “never,” “only,” “must,” and “completely.” These are usually the wrong answers since there are many exceptions to rules. These are extreme words that are more than likely to be the wrong choice.

• Reread all questions containing negative wording such as “not” or “least.” Be especially alert for the use of double or even triple negatives within a sentence, as these must be read very carefully to assure full understanding. Check for qualifying words such as “all-most-some-none,” “always-usually-seldom-never,” “best-worst,” or “smallest-largest.” When you see one of these qualifiers, test for truth by substituting the other members of the series. IF your substitution makes a better statement, the question is false; if your substitution does not make a better statement, the question is true.

• Be alert for multiple ideas or concepts within the same true/false statements. All parts of the statement must be true or the entire statement is false.

• Be alert for grammatical inconsistencies between the question stem and the answer choices on multiple-choice questions. A choice is almost always wrong if it and the stem do not make a grammatically correct sentence.

Don’t second guess yourself

Your gut? It’s usually right. When taking your exam listen to your gut. If you overanalyze every question you’re going to begin doubting yourself and start selecting the wrong answer. Go through the test and only listen to your gut. You can circle a few questions where you’re truly not sure but save those and come back to them once you’ve completed the entire exam. Who knows? A question later in the test might actually give you a clue to a question you were stuck on.

Process of Elimination

Test makers are smart. They’re going to give you two answers that are really close and could each be close to being right. Your first task when looking at a question is to immediately eliminate the two choices that can’t possibly be right. Now it’s a 50/50 shot for the final two answers. Your odds are so much better!

Wellness

Below are some wellness and self-care tips to help you before and during your test. If you’re able to manage or overcome your physical symptoms then you might be able to focus more clearly on the task at hand.

Getting a good night of sleep

For most people cramming is not the answer. If you don’t give your body its needed rest then it won’t be ready to perform when you need it to. Go to bed at a decent time and make sure you leave yourself enough time during the day of your test to follow your normal routine.

Give your body its needed nutrients

Your body needs fuel to perform. During the day of your test make sure you eat a good meal and pack snacks for the test day. You’re going to exert a lot of energy focusing on the exam so make sure your body has enough fuel to handle that ask! And don’t forget the importance of drinking enough water!

Keep a positive attitude

This is always harder to do than it sounds. But keeping a positive attitude about what you’re capable of doing is important. Do you have a specific motto that gives you motivation? What about an image of a happy place or a memory that you can conjure up to give you a positive attitude? Do what works best for you.

Letting go of perfectionism

You’re not going to get 100% on this exam and that’s perfectly ok! You need to score 80% and you pass. Schools don’t care what your score is, they just care that you passed. You can’t know every detail, but you’ve done the work to prepare for this exam and you know a lot. And what you do know gives you enough experience to guess on stuff you might not know. This article from Brown University is useful when thinking about keeping a positive attitude and letting go of perfectionism.

Get to the test center early

The last thing you need is to be rushing to the test center to make it on time. Now you’re not focused on the exam subject matter, but instead you’re focused on just getting there. Do your best to arrive 5-10 minutes early so you can re-focus and get to know the space you’ll be taking the test in. This gives your body time to acclimate itself to the testing environment.

Calm your breath

When you get nervous your breath and heart rate can get out of control. Then guess what your mind is thinking about? Your breath and heart rate. Before the test, and even during a difficult stretch of the test, engage in breathing techniques to calm your breath and focus your mind. See below for an example.