How to Take a Test

In the fast-paced academic world, where assessments and examinations have become a pivotal part of one's educational journey, it's not uncommon to find students grappling with the challenge of time management during tests. I recently experienced this firsthand when I took a test and, despite arriving fifteen minutes early and having some extra time, I still found myself unable to complete the entire test, leaving two questions unanswered. This experience sparked a conversation within the class, and we all arrived at the conclusion it was the idea that there wasn't enough time to complete the exam.

Our professor, who was trying to understand our challenges, questioned our difficulties during the test. To our surprise, the majority of us voiced the same concern: time constraints. However, the professor went on to explain an intriguing observation. The test we had taken had remained largely unchanged since 2016, yet in the time of COVID-19, a noticeable decline in test scores had occurred. What was particularly interesting was that this decline did not seem to be due to a lack of understanding of the material; rather, it was the result of our collective struggle with the process of taking tests.

When taking a test it's good to listen to any instruction that may be given. The instructor may state to start the exam back to front due to the last question being worth more the the question in the front and if you run out of time you only miss out on a few points then one that is worth 15.

Next, look over the test before starting. By doing so this may help to understand the structure of the exam and determine which questions are difficult and may need more time.

The trick is to write down what you know. When it comes to taking tests that require formulas. It's best to take a few minutes and write down what you know or may need to know to solve some problems. By doing this it can eliminate anxiety and stress. And now if you get stuck you have something to refer back to without fearing the chance that you might forget it.

When taking the test there tend to be "easy" questions, the material you may understand a bit more and can do fairly easily. This can save time at the end to be able to look over the test and see if anything was missed.

Once you have knocked out the "easy" questions go back and answer the "hard questions. It may come back that some were not as hard as you originally thought but if you come across some that are difficult skip it and continue to answer the rest. This step can be repeated as if it were a cycle. This allows more time for the difficult questions.

Once all questions are answered and there is time left over go back and review each question while checking your work. This can help to see if any question was left unanswered or if a mistake was made in a calculation There may be times when one question is too difficult to understand it is best to try and put something down for the possibility of a partial credit. It's better than nothing.