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Test Preparation Strategies

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Increasing Competition for Children at all Ages

Today’s children are surrounded by too many competitive forces, pressuring them from all directions. The pressure starts right from the time they say their first A,B,Cs. They may not be able to express their feelings at that time, but they see their parents worrying about them getting admission into the right pre-school and right school. This pressure never really wears off since pre/elementary school leads to middle school where students compete to get into honor courses and then in high-school where they try to take in as many AP courses as possible. Of course, then comes the mother of all tests – SAT – to get admission into the right college which forms the basic foundation of their adult life.

Taking Tests is the Norm at Every Stage

These children have to compete and take tests at all stages of their student lives. Instead of stressing out every time there’s a test, there are certain steps they can follow to reduce the anxiety and prepare for these exams. We have laid these down into 10 simple steps. The basic assumption that you have to study for these exams is not negotiable, but while you are studying, these steps will help you to be more effective in preparing for your tests – no matter what grade or age you are taking this test.

Effective Test Preparation Can Reduce Anxiety

Know the Test’s Format

The first time you get yourself familiarized with the test format shouldn’t be at the time of the test, in the testing center or school. Whether it is SOL or SAT, ACT, GRE, or GMAT, you should know exactly what kind of questions to expect, the format of the test, the length of the test, and different sections in the test. This will take the surprise factor out of the test and you can focus all your time in answering questions instead of familiarizing yourself with the test.

Know the Directions/Instructions

Before you take the test, you should already know the directions for each section in the test. This is specifically true for SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE type of tests where the format and instructions don’t ever change (unless there’s a major change in the format which is usually widely announced beforehand). This will again enable you to focus on getting to the answers immediately instead of spending your valuable time reading the instructions in different sections.

Create a Plan

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The first step for preparing for any major event or test is to create a detailed plan. This plan will help you understand all the different things you need to do to reach your goal. It will help you allocate your time to different activities appropriately. It will also enable you to keep your eyes on the goal. For instance, let’s say you are preparing for SAT. Some of the steps of this plan will include:

Take a mock test to identify your strengths and weaknesses
Collect all information about the test – format, dates, etc.
Create a test score goal for each section
Identify if you need any external tutoring for any of the topics say for the entire SAT Reasoning Test or just for Math or English section
Based on your schedule, determine if personal, Online Tutoring might be a better option to customize it as per your need or do you prefer a classroom setting for group tutoring
Create a time table for taking more practice tests, etc.

Get Help

Once you have created a plan of action and identified your strengths and weaknesses, get help in time to focus on the areas where you need more guidance. For instance, for some people certain math topics such as algebra or calculus are tough and it will be better to get help early in the game and learn the basics and tricks to solve such questions. For others, writing essays produces nightmares. Get a tutor to critique your essays and guide you on thinking through the writing process. Getting help at the right time can do wonders for your chances of success in such exams. Don’t wait till the last moment to get help.

Practice, Practice, Practice

There is no substitute to practice for success in any test. The more you practice, the more familiar you will be with the type of questions that come in the tests, the more confidence you will build on your ability to solve such questions. By spending time solving different kinds of problems, your problem solving skills and speed will improve. In the end, on the day of the test, that’s what will count.

Among two students who have the same knowledge, the student who has done more practice and can solve the questions more efficiently will do better in the test. Practicing the skills you learned during the course is the best way to help you recall them and get good at them again. So, practice, practice, practice!

Pace Yourself

When you practice for the exam, make sure to you pace yourself. Just knowing a topic is not enough. Completing the solution within the timeframe is what counts on the day of the test. So, time yourself for various sections of the test. For instance, each of SAT’s quantitative section is for 25 mins – so ensure that you can finish your mock test in the same timeframe. Sometimes, taking personal tutoring lessons to learn the tips and tricks to solve questions efficiently helps. A personal tutor can help you think through the areas where you need more help and give you tips to be more efficient – something that can’t be done in a classroom setting.

Calm Down – Find the Stress Source, Fight it.

For high school students, preparing for college admissions and for college graduates, preparing for post-graduation admissions can be quite nerve wrecking. First thing, you should learn is to calm down. Most of the time, the stress comes from either lack of preparation or perceived lack of preparation. So, create a detailed plan to prepare. Get external tutoring for the areas where you need help. Getting help, encouragement and direction from the tutor will help you feel confident. Confidence in yourself will reduce the stress by half anyway. Doing mock tests and letting your personal tutor explain the difficult areas will help you achieve this confidence. After everything has been done, just think long term. These tests are just one way to show your competence. Colleges look at these test results, but also at your overall personality, your achievements, your contribution to society.

Relax on the Eve of the Test

You have already done whatever you could do for the upcoming test. So, the night before the test, just relax! Talk to your friends and family members, watch some TV, play a game – do something to take your mind off of test. Additionally, collect all the material you will need for the test the next day – any test-id card, pens, pencils, etc. Be prepared.

Next day, Get up a little early, take a bath, and eat proper breakfast to ensure that you are fresh and mentally alert for the test. Sometimes reviewing the test material or solving a few questions from a sample test paper helps you calm down. Not too many, just a few to get your body and mind into the test-taking mode. This will help you to be mentally prepared to start the test before the test actually starts.

Don’t Panic During the Test

Whatever happens that day, do not panic. If you are running late for the test or you forgot something at the home or you drank too much water and have to visit the bathroom too many times – don’t panic and get nervous. Do the thing you need to do and get back to test quickly. During the test, just think about the test items, solving as many questions as you can and pacing yourself to complete the test.

10.

Make Educated Guesses Through Process of Elimination

Most of the standardized tests such as SAT, ACT, GMAT, or GRE have a lot of multiple choice questions. For those questions where you need to make an educated guess (because solving may take too long or you really don’t know the answer), follow the process of elimination. There will be some choices that you can eliminate through logical reasoning or through the first few steps of the solution. Once you are left with the last 2-3 choices, make an educated guess based on your understanding of the topic.

THINK LONG TERM:

Going to the top college is important, but if you can’t make it – the world will not end there. We have several examples of CEOs of various companies who didn’t go to the best college, but through hard work, luck and perseverance, they managed to reach the top and now hire students from the top colleges to work for them!

About Author : Anu Bhave is the founder and President at Online Tutoring – Math Online Tutor, English Online Tutor, Personal Tutor, Personalized Tutoring

- an online tutoring and homework help firm that provides very high-quality personalized, convenient, yet highly affordable supplementary education services to K-12 and college students.