Test-Taking Hints

Margaret van Baaren
Director, Learning Skills Program

Standardized tests strike terror in the hearts of certain students. Others find the format easy. Margaret van Barren, Director of the Learning Skills Program, has clues for both camps and offers ways to handle the so-called high-stakes tests.

First off, relax. The SSATs and PSATs are not intelligence tests. Some kids just don’t test well and anxiety surrounding the test can be the most crippling obstacle. Scores are important but admission officers see them as one piece of a bigger puzzle. Test scores do give a school some information about a student, but as a part of the whole picture: A student’s extracurricular passions and grades, in most cases, provide more insight into who a child is than scores alone.

Second, prepare. Learn the test’s format using one of many review books available (The Princeton Review, Barron’s Test Prep, the College Board series). Become familiar with test directions, different kinds of questions, and the formats of answers. In a broader sense, become test-savvy and embrace the ongoing journey of learning.

• Read lots of books of different genres and be curious about the writing: be able to describe the plot, think about the message the author’s trying to convey, identify symbolism and imagery, watch characters develop.
• Expand your vocabulary. In order to process and retain information thoroughly and efficiently, engage your brain by using as many multi-sensory techniques as possible. Here are a few: visualize words and their meanings, make flash cards, invent and play word games, have a “word of the day” and use it at least five times that day, study new words while engaging in a physical activity such as shooting hoops or skipping rope, write words on a carpet or in the sand—or in the air, use color pencils, make charts, invent songs, use mnemonic devices. Remember that the tests expect you to know relationships among words, as well.
• When it comes to math, practice, practice, practice.

Third, strategize. There are test-taking strategies that can improve scores dramatically. So when you sit down to take the test, look over the whole section to see what you are up against. Use relaxation techniques to keep anxiety in check and clear your head before attacking questions. Then, go.

• Read the question thoroughly.
• Take a moment to reflect on what’s being asked. Form an answer in your mind. Then look at the answers.
• Read the answers thoroughly and choose the best one.

As you go through the test, you will encounter questions of varying difficulty. Some you will be able to answer right away. Those that you know you can answer but look quite difficult, mark with a plus sign, and skip. Those questions that totally elude you, mark with a minus. Continue on until you’re through with the section, then go back to the plus questions and answer all you can. If you have time, work on the minus questions.

It’s always okay to leave a few blank (in fact, you should) … just make sure the ones you leave blank are the ones with the minus signs!

And remember, these tests aren’t necessarily for finding out how much knowledge you have, they’re about how well you reason. You can improve if you practice and invest in being test-savvy.

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