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PinkFloyd
August 23rd, 2013, 02:40 AM
Okay, so it's that time of year again where school is starting for everyone. Well, unless you're Australian...

But these will be helpful to everyone. (even my Australian mates!) :D

In this list, I will be covering tips for your average test for the most part. I will also include advise for standardized tests like SAT's, ACT's, DLKT's etc. etc.

- Eliminate the obviously wrong choices first by crossing them out.

- In true/false questions, look out for possible choices that have "always, absolutely, no matter what" and more that are super straight forward like that because not many things are for sure.

- Keep your eyes on your own paper! Even if you weren't attempting to cheat, the teacher may not know that. You must assume that each of your teachers are looking for the tiniest excuse to kick you out and give you a zero.

- If you are completely unsure, pick the longest choice.
EXAMPLE:
Why is the seat belt in a motor vehicle important?
A.) It protects your head from blowing up.
B.) Safety
C.) It restrains you from hitting your head in a crash.
D.) In the unfortunate event of a crash with your motor vehicle, the safety belt is vital due to the fact that it is restraining you from being thrown from the motor vehicle. It also prevents contact with the airbag which is an extra precaution.

- Look back at other questions in the test to see if they can answer the question.

- Make sure to fill the bubble in all the way with #2 graphite if you're using a special document like Scantron.

- Read the question VERY carfully, looking out for words like "except for, not, especially, and instead of."

- When you're done with the test, look over your answers to make sure you're satisfied.

- Don't day dream. Most tests are timed, so you must use the 45 minutes or so to your advantage. Day dreaming also makes you lose your train of thought which isn't good during a test.

- Don't look at your phone or anything that looks like a phone for any reason at all. If the teacher sees it, he or she will probably assume that you are cheating.

- Chew gum. It has been proven that chewing gum focuses the human mind.

- Eat a good meal before the exam. You will need the energy.

- Do not bring your cat with. The cat will distract you and others. :lol:

- This next one is going to sound weird... but if you're a girl, don't wear anything ummm revealing.... it gives me- I mean people yet another reason for their eyes to wander.

- Study a lot in advance. Cramming the night before is better than nothing, but your best bet is to study at leas 3 days in advance for the test.

- If you have the option, do not sit by anyone you're friends or girlfriend/boyfriends with. I've been in that situation... It's not easy.

- If you're allowed to use a laptop for the test, make it a priority to turn the volume off before you do anything else on it. Who knows what could be playing? Your room mate could have used to to watch porn at max volume for all you know!

- It's not for everyone, but music can advance concentration.

- *** When you're trying to figure a math problem out in your head, write your immediate thoughts down on paper so that you don't forget in the next few seconds. ***

That's all I've got, guys. :)

Nomad_X
August 23rd, 2013, 02:39 PM
Do you mean Advice?

PinkFloyd
August 23rd, 2013, 02:41 PM
Do you mean Advice?

haha, yeah. My bad. thanks for the correction.

Croconaw
August 26th, 2013, 09:40 PM
Can't it be spelled either way depending on where you live?

Luminous
August 26th, 2013, 10:14 PM
Really good advice! Being homeschooled all my life I've never taken a real stressful test. Now having started school a week and a half ago, I've taken a bunch of 5-10 question short assessments but I'm already worried for MCAS, the state standard tests for most grades in Massachusetts. As well as for other tests, however I am going to an online school so a lot of these won't apply.
Thank you for posting this it was very helpful.

Jess
August 26th, 2013, 10:18 PM
Great thread!!

Can't it be spelled either way depending on where you live?

Advice is a noun, advise is a verb

PinkFloyd
August 27th, 2013, 03:47 PM
Really good advice! Being homeschooled all my life I've never taken a real stressful test. Now having started school a week and a half ago, I've taken a bunch of 5-10 question short assessments but I'm already worried for MCAS, the state standard tests for most grades in Massachusetts. As well as for other tests, however I am going to an online school so a lot of these won't apply.
Thank you for posting this it was very helpful.

You don't need to be all that stressed about standardised tests like that, We have MCA's here too. (Minnesota Comprehention Assessment) Your state also starts with an "M", so that's why.

If you score below the line, then you get placed in lower level classes. Trust me though... These tests are simple.

Luminous
August 27th, 2013, 05:13 PM
You don't need to be all that stressed about standardised tests like that, We have MCA's here too. (Minnesota Comprehention Assessment) Your state also starts with an "M", so that's why.

If you score below the line, then you get placed in lower level classes. Trust me though... These tests are simple.

I also had to take a test today, and finish it tomorrow. Your advice helped.
MCAS is well known by all the kids as being really hard and extremely stressful.

Harry Smith
August 27th, 2013, 05:28 PM
This is really good man, cheers :)

Mynick
August 27th, 2013, 05:40 PM
Nice post. It works with every exam.
However here in Portugal most of the questions are open response, like writing an essay, don't really know the right term in english.

PinkFloyd
August 27th, 2013, 09:00 PM
I also had to take a test today, and finish it tomorrow. Your advice helped.
MCAS is well known by all the kids as being really hard and extremely stressful.

Oh, wow.. seriously? Well sorry about the false info then. Good luck on the rest of your test. :)

Cygnus
August 27th, 2013, 10:12 PM
This is basically the bible of test takers, thank you.

Luminous
August 27th, 2013, 10:22 PM
Oh, wow.. seriously? Well sorry about the false info then. Good luck on the rest of your test. :)

That's ok, it could turn out to be total bull.
I managed to get in most of my test today (reading basics, reading, and ela). Turns out I don't have to do science (and wasn't supposed to do reading basics) so I just have math left. It's called Scantron, it's sort of like a placement test.

PinkFloyd
August 28th, 2013, 03:34 PM
That's ok, it could turn out to be total bull.
I managed to get in most of my test today (reading basics, reading, and ela). Turns out I don't have to do science (and wasn't supposed to do reading basics) so I just have math left. It's called Scantron, it's sort of like a placement test.

Ohh, yeah. I know what you're talking about. When I was in 7th grade and took the test, the grading machine accidentally sad that my score was half of what it was supposed to be. As a result, I was out into all special ed classes for the rest of the semester. They took me out because they noticed that I had a 4.15 GPA... :lol: