IMPROVING YOUR OBJECTIVE TEST-TAKING SKILLS STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT L...

7.

IMPROVING YOUR OBJECTIVE TEST-TAKING SKILLS

Students who have not learned good test-taking skills are working with an unseen handicap. In

almost every objective test, they give up points needlessly due to undisciplined testing behavior,

irrational responses to test items, or a variety of other bad habits. This tutorial focuses on

overcoming this costly handicap.

Effective test-taking is not about gimmickry. It is not about outwitting your teachers in a

guessing game or applying some magical formula to test-taking. Instead, the successful student must

apply critical reading and thinking skills to the test and avoid making careless mistakes.

Cut Out Careless Errors

Let's begin by dealing with the careless kinds of mistakes that make students moan and groan when

they get their tests back. First, let's state the obvious: read the directions carefully. Many students are

in such a hurry to start the test that they do not read the instructions and make careless errors as a

result.

Secondly, monitor your time so you do not get in a last-minute rush to finish the test. If there are 50

items and your teacher limits the testing time to 50 minutes, then you obviously have only about a

minute to answer each question. The point here is not that you should time each item with a

stopwatch. Simply monitor your progress periodically to make sure that you do not get caught in a

time crunch.

Third, do not start second-guessing yourself and changing 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.

Finally, allow enough time to go through the test to make sure that you have not left an item blank,

mismarked the answer sheet, or made some other simple oversight.

Three Phases of Objective Test Taking

It might help to think of your objective test taking as falling into three distinct phases, which, if

followed in sequence, should improve your final grade:

Phase One: Go through the test and answer only those items that you are confident you can answer

correctly, skipping the other items momentarily. This strategy helps you build confidence and assures

that you will get credit for what you know if you run low on time. Also, as you read and answer

questions, you are making mental associations and reviewing the material. A term listed further into

the test may be the one that was just on the "tip of your tongue" when you were trying to answer an

earlier item.

Phase Two: Go back through the test and focus on items you skipped in the first phase, using a

slightly different strategy: identify and eliminate what you are relatively sure are incorrect answers.

Try cutting down on the possible choices to improve your odds.