Test Taking Skills

Test Taking Skills!

Student often tell me that tests cause them anxiety, cause them stress, or that they are poor test takers. Did you know that you can actually get better at tests? The act of taking a test is a skill that you can develop! 

Here are a few tips:

• Don't study with friends if it raises your anxiety. Do study with friends if it lowers your anxiety. Makes sense, right?
• The most important tip: AVOID CRAMMING! If you are prone to test anxiety, last minute studying is almost guaranteed to make you feel anxious. Start studying for a test far enough in advance (perhaps a few days before the test!) to avoid this. Better yet, study a little bit each day.
• Know when to stop studying! An extra half hour is not worth it if you are tired and unfocused. Know when to stop and get some sleep instead of trying to cram a few extra test points into your brain. Rest is important too!
• Read for mastery rather than memory: think about and try to understand what you read and relate it to the rest of the course material, rather than just try to memorize facts.
• When taking the test, first answer all the questions you know and skip over the ones you are unsure off. Then go back through the test a second time and answer the questions about which you really have to think. This way you will be sure to get all the points coming to you.
• Dress comfortably and in layers for tests. Why is this important? Because you do not want to confuse discomfort with symptoms of anxiety, which then causes you more anxiety, leading to a downward spiral! Plus, it is nice to be comfortable:)
• Take care of yourself: sleep and eat well.
• Get some exercise or physical activity. Exercise is a great stress reliever and can help re-charge your mental batteries.