A lot can depend on a test—getting into law school or medical school, earning an important certification, or simply preserving a strong GPA. With such stakes, many students suffer from anxiety and stress around test-taking.
Some degree of nervousness about a test can actually be beneficial. The dose of adrenaline can provide energy and keep you focused. However, too much stress can undermine test performance. One review of the scientific literature on the subject found that it’s crucial for test-takers to manage anxiety and sustain motivation if they hope to be successful.
One way to combat test anxiety is to adopt proven test-taking strategies. The International Journal of Contemporary Education Research reported that using test-taking strategies increases both test scores themselves and the positive attitudes of the one taking the test. Such benefits make it well worth a student’s time to invest some effort in learning not just the material on a test but also how to take that test effectively.
Here are 14 tips to help students boost scores and reduce the mental strain associated with test-taking before, during, and after the exam.
Before
Begin Preparations Well in Advance
This advice might sound obvious, but in my experience a surprising number of students ignore it—to their own chagrin.Test preparation begins months before the test itself. If the test is part of a larger course, then the first step is to attend every class session, ask questions, take notes, and generally engage with the material. If the exam is a stand-alone event—such as the ACT or LSAT—then preparation begins by taking a prep course and establishing a robust study plan.
The capital sin to avoid is cramming. A little studying each day over a long period of time will often be more efficacious than studying a lot over a short period of time. This approach also reduces stress and the likelihood of late-night study sessions that encroach on needed rest time (more on this below).
Simulate the Test as Accurately as Possible
Students should simulate an exam under conditions as similar as possible to the real thing, according to Stetson University College of Law. This helps acclimate the student to the test-taking environment ahead of time, reducing stress and allowing the test-taker to easily transition into work mode when the real test arrives.
Stetson discourages students from taking practice exams in the comfort of their homes; instead, they should head somewhere quiet yet mildly distracting (to imitate the actual testing room). On a practice exam, students should time themselves precisely as they will be timed on the real test, and they should strive to take the practice test at the same time of day as the real thing.
Gather Materials Ahead of Time
Many testing experts, including Harvard Summer School, recommend collecting everything needed for a test well in advance, possibly the night beforehand. This avoids last-minute, stress-inducing rushes to cobble together necessary supplies before darting out the door. The well-prepared student can glide into the test room comfortably and on time.Get Enough Exercise
On top of fostering good study habits in preparing for an important test, students should also take into consideration their overall health and wellbeing. It’s a well-known scientific fact that exercise, for example, can reduce stress. In addition, it can help improve memory and cognitive function, according to Stetson. If a student exercises habitually, hitting the gym prior to a test may boost scores.Get Enough Sleep
Virtually all the experts agree that resting well before an exam is an essential step to success. Sleep assists with memory consolidation, the integration of knowledge, and generally keeps the mind sharper. It’s crucial both before and after learning new material. No more all-nighters: Dr. Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, says flat-out, “You can’t pull an all-nighter and still learn effectively.”Following this advice will produce tangible results. Researchers at Ghent University and KU Leuven found that students who slept just one additional hour per night (7 instead of 6) scored on exams 1.7 points higher out of a 20-point scale compared to those who slept less.
Eat Well
A healthy diet will improve a student’s mental capabilities overall, and it’s especially important on the big day to eat a nourishing breakfast.Harvard Summer School recommends a meal with a mixture of complex carbohydrates and protein to maintain satiation without sluggishness. Foods like whole wheat, eggs, oatmeal, berries, and nuts are good options. Eggs contain choline, an essential nutrient similar to B vitamins, which can help with sharp thinking during the test. Finally, students should drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated.
During
Arrive Early and Pay Attention to Instructions
Arriving early allows the prospective test-taker to acclimate to the test-taking environment, calm the mind, and avoid unnecessary stress. It also affords the student the chance to prepare materials at their leisure and to fully comprehend instructions.Reading or listening to instructions carefully is indispensable to test-taking success: many students lose significant points simply by not fully understanding what is expected of them and neglecting key details. During my time as a teacher, I often saw students drop by a full letter grade or more simply through carelessness in following instructions.
Glance Over the Test
Once the test has been handed out, the astute test-taker will take a few seconds to glance over the whole thing. This provides the student with a sense of what lies ahead and allows him or her to allocate time to each section more effectively. This bird’s-eye view makes strategizing easier. Maybe there’s a heavily weighted essay question at the end that the student wouldn’t otherwise know about; having looked ahead, the student has the option to tackle that first in order to make sure he snags those points.Answer What You Know First
This classic piece of advice is classic for a reason: it works. Students should aim to rack up easy points right from the words, “You may begin.” Harvard Summer School advises: “When you come to a question that you can’t answer (relatively) quickly, skip it on this first pass. Don’t rush through this first pass, but do be mindful of time—you’ll want to leave yourself enough time to go back and answer the questions you skipped.”This is an important corollary to the advice of answering what you know first—students should leave plenty of time to tackle the harder questions afterwards!
Stay On Your Toes With Constructed Response Questions
When a question requires a student to write a longer response, it’s essential that the student read the directions carefully. Research suggests that underlining key words in the prompt or question can be a helpful step.In addition, these types of responses need to be more flexible. Michigan State University tells its students to leave some space between the lines of their question responses so that they can go back and fill in details or add information later if needed.
Don’t Worry About What Other Test-Takers Are Doing
Students need to avoid getting flustered by what other students are or are not doing during the test. Just because a nearby test-taker appears to be racing through the exam doesn’t mean that he or she really knows the material. The well-prepared student should work at his or her own strategic pace, regardless of what others do.After
Make Good Use of Extra Time
Speaking of pacing, a student who completes the test before the time limit is up needs to think tactically about how to use those final minutes.The first order of business is to make sure every question has been answered. Sometimes sneaky questions might be hiding on the back of a page. Students should root them out. To allude once more to my own teaching woes, I sometimes found entire pages in submitted tests that students had obviously just missed. Such incomplete pages will be a sledgehammer to a student’s grade.
Once the student has ensured they filled everything out, they should use remaining time to check their work on completed questions, especially any that they felt unsure about the first time through. There’s no reason to turn a test in early in most cases. It’s a good idea to take advantage of all or most of the time allotted.
Learn From Your Mistakes
Incorrect answers should be seen as an opportunity, not a condemnation. If a student’s test achievements don’t match their hopes, they should think about the situation as a learning experience. What went wrong? What material was too challenging and why? What strategies worked and what strategies didn’t? Such disappointments are part of everyone’s educational journey, and a necessary part at that.Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
If a student performs well on a test—excellent! Cause for celebration. If not, however, they shouldn’t criticize themselves endlessly or dwell on the failure excessively. Once the key lessons have been extracted from the experience, it’s time to move on and apply them to the next test.With preparation, practice, patience, and perseverance, any student can become an effective test-taker. A significant portion of academic success flows from understanding how to take tests strategically. Mastering these skills will open many doors.
