Learn Test-Taking Strategies
When test day rolls around, you can go into the exam knowing that you’ve spent time preparing, and now it’s time to perform. Most of your success depends on the hard work and learning you’ve done before the test, but during the test you can use the strategies in this section to maximize the benefits of this preparation.
Start Smart
It’s “go” time: The exam is in your hands (or on your screen). Get a solid start by taking these steps.
Write your name or student ID. Depending on your instructor’s instructions, put your name or student ID number on the test documents. These documents might include the test questions, an electronic answer sheet, or a booklet where you’ll write essay responses.
Read the directions. Instructors design their tests in different ways, so carefully read the test instructions before answering any questions. For example, some instructors discourage guessing by giving negative points for an incorrect answer and zero points if you leave the answer blank. Others ask you to choose more than one answer to a question. Find out what the rules are before you start.
Preview questions and budget your time. Quickly review the types of questions on the test and the points assigned to each. For instance, a 50-point test may have ten multiple-choice questions worth 1 point each and two essay questions worth 20 points each. Knowing this helps you budget your time and might reduce feelings of anxiety.3 For example, if you have fifty minutes to complete the 50-point test, spend no more than one minute on each multiple-choice question and about twenty minutes on each essay question. If you spend four to five minutes on one low-value multiple-choice question, you’ll have less time for the high-value essay questions. Also, use all the time provided. If you finish early, take advantage of the remaining time to check your answers.
Start with easy questions. Tackle the questions you know the answers to first. If you’re especially well prepared for an essay question, start with that. If you can easily answer fifteen true/false items, begin with those. Responding to questions that are easy for you can help you gain confidence. Be sure, though, to keep in mind the overall points; leave enough time to answer the high-value questions, whether they’re hard or easy.
Manage any test anxiety. If you tense up as you start the test, use the relaxation techniques described earlier. In particular, remind yourself that you’re prepared, and it’s time to show what you know.
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Answer Multiple-Choice Questions
Exams during your first term and those in larger classes will likely contain multiple-choice questions. To answer them, you have to accurately recall information, evaluate multiple options, and eliminate poor choices. Try these strategies to improve your performance on multiple-choice questions.
FOR DISCUSSION: The Internet is filled with examples of humorous test questions. Find a few or create your own to use when teaching students how to answer a multiple-choice question.
Read the directions carefully. Often, you’ll be prompted to pick the single best answer for a multiple-choice question, but occasionally you may have to select more than one response. In addition, sometimes a multiple-choice question will ask you to identify which of the options is incorrect. Finally, check whether your instructor gives negative points for incorrect answers.
Answer the question in your mind before reading the answer choices. Before you look at the response options, answer the question in your mind if you can. Then look through the options for a choice that matches your answer. If you find one, you can be relatively confident it’s correct.
Mark any questions you skip. If you don’t know the answer to a question and want to come back to it, clearly mark the question you skip so you can easily find it later. If you’re using an electronic scoring form, leave that response blank and return to it later.
Cross out all wrong answers. As you read through each answer option, eliminate all choices that you know are incorrect. Crossing out wrong answers will help you focus on the options you’re seriously considering.
Read all the options. Before marking your response, read all the answer options carefully. Instructors may use tricky language to make sure that you’re paying attention and that you really know the material. They may also include several items with similar wording.
Look for mismatches in how the question and the answer options are worded. Response options that don’t match the question in some way may be incorrect. For instance, if the question contains a singular noun, options that are plural nouns are likely incorrect. Or if the question names a category and one of the answer responses contains something that doesn’t fit in that category, that response is likely wrong. As an example, the following question asks about organs.
Which organs can be susceptible to cancer? Check all that apply.
____ A. Lung
____ B. Brain
____ C. Uterus
____ D. Foot
Answer D (foot) is not an organ, so it is incorrect.
Look for clues in other questions. From time to time, you’ll find the answer to one question in the wording of another question.
Look for conditional and unconditional language. Answers that use conditional language (such as frequently, mostly, and typically) tend to be correct. Answers with unconditional language (such as always, forever, totally, never, and only) are often wrong.
Consider “all of the above.” If at least two of the answer options are correct, then “all of the above” or “all of the choices” is often your best response.
Look for the longest answer option. All things being equal, if you don’t know the answer to the question, then choose the longest answer option. Test question writers tend to make the correct responses longer than the others.
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Answer Matching Questions
Matching questions require you to connect test items in one list with the correct answer in a second list (see Figure 9.2). These questions allow instructors to cover a great deal of information in a single test question. One challenge of these questions is that if you get one pair wrong, it keeps you from getting another right. Try some of these ideas to answer matching questions.
Read the directions or question prompt very carefully. Be sure you know exactly what the question is asking you to match.
Read through all the options. Take time to read all the items in both lists. Getting familiar with both lists will ensure that you know everything the question covers.
Start at the top of one list. Matching questions are most commonly presented as two columns. Start with the first item in one of the columns, and search through the other column to find the correct answer. After you find the answer, move on to the second item in the column. If you don’t find the correct answer, skip it and move to the next item, and so on.
Answer questions you know first. First make any matches you’re confident are correct. Skip over the ones you’re not sure about.
Match all the items. Matching questions usually have the same number of items in each column. Make sure you match all the items.
Draw a line between items. If you’re taking a written test rather than an online test (and you have a pencil that you can erase), draw a line between answers in the two columns. This approach allows you to see which items you’ve matched and which options remain. It also prompts you to match all the items.
Quickly double-check your answers. After you’ve matched all the items, briefly review your answers to make sure you’ve used all the items and you haven’t duplicated any answers.
CONNECT
TO MY CLASSES
So far, which of your college classes has had the most challenging tests? What has made those tests so difficult for you? Write down two strategies that could help you overcome these challenges.
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Answer Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
Fill-in-the-blank questions can be more challenging than multiple-choice questions because you don’t have several responses to choose from. Instead, you have to produce the answer yourself. The following strategies can help.
Think about the key concepts, dates, and main topics of the class. These are often the answers to fill-in-the-blank questions. For example, suppose a major topic covered in your U.S. history class is the Civil War. On a test, you see the question “On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave an address dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, the site of a significant battle in the [blank].” The answer that goes in the blank would be “Civil War.”
Write something. Unless there is a penalty for guessing, write something in each blank provided in the question.
Check grammatical fit. For example, if the blank in the sentence requires a noun, make sure your answer is a noun. If the blank requires the past-tense form of a verb, be sure your answer takes that form.
Check your work. After you’ve filled in all the blanks in a sentence, reread the sentence to make sure your responses make sense and are grammatically correct.
Answer True/False Questions
True/false questions can be challenging to answer, particularly when they’re long and include language that seems designed to trip you up. On the positive side, you always have a 50 percent chance of being correct. Consider these strategies for answering true/false questions.
Look for conditional and unconditional language. As with multiple-choice questions, conditional terms (including sometimes, often, generally, seldom, or some) suggest that the statement is probably true. Unconditional language (such as all, only, invariably, or entirely) often indicates a false statement.
Choose “false” if any part of the answer option is incorrect. For example, the statement “The noble gases include helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon, and hydrogen” is false because hydrogen is not a noble gas.
Rewrite double negatives. If a statement includes double negatives, cross them out and reread the item to determine if it is true or false. Take the sentence “The sun will never not rise in the east.” If you cross out “never” and “not,” you get “The sun will rise in the east,” which is true.
Guess “true.” If you have no idea whether the item is true or false (and your instructor doesn’t deduct points for guesses), then select “true” as your response. As instructors, we can tell you that it’s easier to write test items that are true than those that are false.
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Answer Essay Questions
You’ll often encounter essay questions on college tests, particularly in upper-level and smaller courses with fewer students (and thus fewer essays for instructors to read). Most essay questions require you to describe topics in detail, make arguments, or analyze information. For these questions, you need to use your critical thinking skills. In fact, your answers may need to show a mix of the levels of learning represented in Bloom’s taxonomy (see the critical thinking chapter), which range from knowledge, comprehension, and application to analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Here are some suggestions for answering essay questions effectively.
FOR DISCUSSION: Ask students: What skills from the critical thinking chapter can help you answer essay questions? What other topics have we covered that can help? What methods have you used in the past to help with essay questions?
FOR DISCUSSION: As a class, discuss the differences between in-class essay exams and take-home essays. How might students approach these assignments differently?
Read the question carefully. Essay questions often include one or more of the following terms: define, summarize, apply, explain, compare/contrast, critique, illustrate, justify, outline, describe, review. Circle these terms in the question, and make sure you’re answering the question that’s being asked. For example, if a question asks you to compare and contrast two theories and your response merely defines them, you’re not answering the question.
Budget your time. If you have thirty minutes and three essays to write, give yourself ten minutes for each.
Organize your response. Before you start writing, briefly outline your response. Decide on a main point and supporting details for each paragraph in your essay. Use your outline to ensure you’re answering the question completely. Also, leave space at the end of your answer in case you have time to return to the essay and want to add a few more supporting details.
Write neatly. If you have poor handwriting, take time to write legibly so that your instructor can read your response.
Proofread. If possible, leave yourself time to proofread each essay so that you can fix any problems with grammar and spelling, flow of ideas, and accuracy of content. Draw a line through any problem areas, and neatly write your revision above the crossed-out material.
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Take Math and Science Tests
In your math and science classes, test questions often are about solving problems — for example, showing a proof, solving for a variable in an equation, or drawing the electron configuration of a copper atom. Consider these strategies when you answer problem-solving questions.
Show your work. Write out each step of your answer. This will help you double-check your work and show your instructor how you arrived at your answer.
Check for basic errors. Review your work to catch and fix simple mistakes, such as mixing up positive and negative signs, rounding a number incorrectly, or calculating operations out of order.
Tackle hard problems last. If you encounter a difficult problem, skip it and do the easier ones first. Return to the hard one later.
Answer all the questions. Write down something for each question. Even if you can’t solve an entire problem, you might get partial credit for the work you do show.
Make your answers legible. Make sure any diagrams and proofs you write are clear and neat. Sloppy or unreadable work will hurt your grade.
Take Tests Online
During your college experience, you’ll probably take at least a few exams online (see Figure 9.3). Even traditional classes that meet face-to-face may have online tests. Use the following strategies to take online exams successfully.
ACTIVITY: Invite students to speak with an upper-level student majoring in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, or math). Does this student have any specific skills or strategies for taking science or math tests that he or she can share?
Use your notes sparingly. Most of your online tests will be open book/open note but they’ll also be time-limited. During an open book/open note test, you can use the book and your notes as a resource. However, you won’t have time to look up the answer to every question. Study as you would for any other type of test, and use your notes and book to verify answers for just a few questions.
Check your browser. Make sure that your computer’s browser works with the test-taking platform. Your instructor may recommend a specific browser, or you may need to check the login procedure to confirm you can access the test-taking system.
Test your Internet connection. Before starting the exam, check that you have a secure, stable Internet connection. If you lose your Internet connection during the test, don’t close the browser. Instead, reestablish the connection and try to continue. A broken connection or closed browser may cause the system to mistakenly conclude that you’ve finished taking the test. If this occurs, contact your instructor immediately and explain the situation.
Reserve a quiet space. Find a quiet, distraction-free space to complete the exam. If necessary, make arrangements ahead of time with roommates or family members.
Don’t start until you’re ready. Most online exams are forced completion, meaning that once you start, you can’t stop and return later to finish. Wait until you’re ready; then begin.
Enable pop-ups. Sometimes questions appear as pop-ups, so before you start, make sure your browser will allow pop-ups during the exam. Use the browser’s Help feature to find out how to disable the pop-up blocker.
Record your answers. If your instructor allows it, write down your answers as you complete the exam. Record the question number and your response to multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions. For essay questions, copy and paste your answers into a Word document. That way, if your answers somehow get lost, you can use your saved responses to re-create them.
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Take Tests with Integrity
Throughout your college career, you and your classmates will have many opportunities to act with integrity by being honest and demonstrating behavior that reflects your values. You’ll take personal responsibility for and ownership of your education, which you likely value highly. For example, you’ll spend time studying when you’d rather do something more fun, and you’ll do your own work on papers and class projects instead of plagiarizing (see the information literacy and communication chapter). Taking tests is another critical opportunity to act with integrity — again, by doing your own work rather than cheating. When it comes to test taking, cheating can involve anything from peeking over a neighbor’s shoulder and copying down her answers to looking at a copy of a stolen exam.
Integrity: Being honest and displaying behavior that is consistent with one’s values.
Students decide to cheat for a variety of reasons: They’re overwhelmed by college demands, they don’t have enough time to prepare effectively, they’re not sure how to study for tests, or they simply don’t want to put in the effort to succeed. But cheating comes with some high costs. For one thing, if you cheat, you’re cheating yourself out of the opportunity to learn — so you’re wasting your tuition money. You’re also being unfair to all the students who put in the effort to learn the material. And if you decide to cheat and you get caught, you may fail the exam, fail the entire course and have to repeat it, and have a written record of the event permanently attached to your student file. You might have to go in front of a student panel at the college, or you could even be expelled. These risks just aren’t worth the possibility of scoring a few more points on an exam by cheating.
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WRITING PROMPT: Ask students to write about a time when they were tempted to cheat in class, while playing a game, or in any situation, big or small. Have them respond to the following questions: Looking back, why was it beneficial to you that you didn’t cheat? What would have been the short- and long-term consequences if you had cheated? Finally, why is integrity important to you personally?
Also take care to avoid any appearance of cheating during exams. For instance, if you’re taking a closed-book exam, pulling out your phone or rummaging in your bag for gum, an extra pen, or scratch paper is asking for trouble. If you need to do any of these things, let your instructor know. If you have study materials with you, put these in your bag before you enter the classroom, and turn off your phone. If your instructor believes you’ve cheated, even if you haven’t, you may be severely penalized. Don’t put yourself in a position to be questioned.
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