Study, Study, Study
The worst thing you can do before a standardized test is not
study. There aren't many people who can just waltz into the
testing room and ace one without any test preparation. You have
to buckle down, take those practice tests, and most of all LEARN
from your mistakes on them!
Speaking of Practice Tests
Get some, and use them. These will probably be the most
valuable things you can get your hands on besides the test
answers themselves. (Not to mention practice tests aren't
illegal... stealing the answers is) First, get yourself at
least three different copies of the practice tests, and for the
first test, take as long as you want, and work through each
question. No stress. Then for the second practice test, time
yourself. Still don't worry about how long it takes you, but be
aware of what types of questions take you the longest. Next,
time yourself again, but don't go very much over the time
limit. Maybe 5 minutes max. Again, pay attention to what types
of questions you're taking the most time on. Finally, on the
last practice test or two, time yourself and stick to it. Don't
go over the time limit. While you're taking the test, make sure
you remember which types of questions gave you trouble, and if
you can't answer one of those right off the bat, move on then
come back to it if you have time. There is no use missing a
couple of "easy" questions because you spent too much time on
one you couldn't figure out. You can always come back for a
hard one, but you can't get the easy ones you didn't answer
back after the time limit.
REMEMBER THIS!
Hopefully that headline will help you remember this during your
test preparation, as well as when you actually take the test.
ALWAYS read the directions - for every test, every section,
every question. If there are directions there, read them.
Period. If you don't read the directions, you may answer
incorrectly or spend too much time trying to figure out a
question that you shouldn't have had a hard time with if you
had read the directions. I cannot stress this enough - READ the
directions!
Be Well Rested
The worst thing you can do is pull an "all-nighter" the night
before a big test. It is almost guaranteed to ruin your test
preparation. Think about it - taking a test is stressful, and
your body can only take so much stress before you have to sleep
it off. If you don't sleep (or don't sleep much) the night
before a big standardized test, chances are the stress of the
test will take its toll on your body, and your brain will begin
to react more slowly. You will miss things you should have
otherwise noticed, miss questions you should have known, etc.
You can't afford to do this on a standardized test.
Along that same note, show up to the test site early. That way,
if you forget something, you've got time to go get it. That will
help reduce your stress level, and thus, help increase your
score. Again, too much stress will ruin all of the test
preparation you've done.
Remember What You Learned From The Practice Tests
Remember when I said that you should pay attention to the types
of questions you stumble over during your test preparation?
Remember that when you're taking the test. If you're getting
stuck on a question, skip it and come back. Just like you did
during the practice tests. You're better off trying to come
back if you have time left over than you are wasting time on a
question you might get wrong anyway. Go do the questions you
can answer quickly! And if you've got time left over after
you've answered all of the questions, go back and re-read them
all and make sure your answers are right. At this point, you
can afford to wrestle with an quetion that you stumbled over.
However, remember this - your first instinct is usually the
best one. Don't talk yourself out of an answer you know is
right.
Don't Worry
Standardized tests aren't the be-all end-all. There are plenty
of people out there who didn't do well on standardized tests at
all, and they're doing quite well for themselves. It's not the
end of the world if you don't get a good score, just do some
more test preparation and give it another try!
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