Becoming a Better Test Taker

Very few students stop to think about how to improve their test-taking skills.

• Most believe that if they study well they will ace their exam and that if they study poorly they will do poorly. Have you ever studied for an exam and blew it or vice versa?

• Most students have had this experience. The lesson should be clear: factors other than your level of preparation influence your final test score. This chapter provides insights that will help you perform better on the AP Environmental Science Exam and other exams, as well.

Pacing and Timing

A large part of scoring well on an exam is working at a consistent pace. The worst mistake to make is to come to a challenging question and let it stump you. Some questions will remain at a challenging question stuck and stall; wasting valuable time. It is important to be aware of how much time you have spent on a given question and in the section you are working on. There are several ways to improve your pacing for the test.

• Know your average pace.

While you prepare for your test try to gauge how much time you spend on 5, 10, or 20 questions. Knowing how long you spend on average per question will help you identify how many questions you can answer effectively.

• Have a watch or clock nearby.

  Remember that checking the time constantly will be a waste of time. Try checking every 15c or 30 minutes to see if you are keeping pace.

• Know when to move on.

  Since all the questions are scored equally, investing appreciable amounts of time on a single question is inefficient and can potentially deprive you of the chance to answer easier questions later on. If you are able to eliminate answer choices, do so, but do not worry about picking a random answer and moving on if you cannot find the correct answer. You do best when you work at a steady rate. You can always come back to questions you do not know. Even if you come back to the question and you still do not know the answer, you wouldn’t have wasted valuable time.

• Be selective.

  You do not have to do any of the questions in a given section in order. Skip challenging questions and come back to them. Select questions that you can answer easily and focus on them first in order to save time and maximize your chance for points.

• Use Process of Elimination on multiple-choice questions.

  Many times, one or more answers can be eliminated. Every answer choice that can be eliminated increases the odds that you will answer the question correctly.

  Remember, when all the questions on a test are of equal value, no one question os that important. Your overall goal for pacing is to get the most questions correct. Finally, you should set a realistic goal for your final score. In the next section, we will break down how to achieve your desired score and ways of pacing yourself to do so.

Getting The Score You Want

• Depending on the score you need, it may be in your best interest not to try to work through every question. Years ago, AP Exams eliminated the “guessing penalty” of a quarter of a point for every incorrect answer. Instead, students are assessed only on the total number of correct answers.

• It’s really important to remember that if you are running out of time, you should fill in all the bubbles before the time for the multiple-choice section is up.

• Even if you don’t plan to spend a lot of time on every question and even if you have no idea what the correct answer is, it’s to your advantage to fill something in.

Test Anxiety

Everybody experiences anxiety before and during n exam. To a certain extent, test anxiety can be helpful. Some people find that they perform more quickly and efficiently under stress. If you have ever pulled an all-nighter to write a paper and ended up doing good work you know the feeling.

However, too much stress is definitely a bad thing. Hyperventilating during the test for example almost always leads to a lower score. If you find that you stress out during exams, here are a few preemptive actions you can take.

• Take a reality check.

Evaluate your situation before the test begins. If you have studied hard, remind yourself that you are well prepared. Make sure you get to every question you know something about. Your job is to score as high as you can by maximizing the benefits of what you do know. Always answer questions that you can answer easily and quickly before you answer those that will take more time.

• Try to relax.

Slow, deep breathing works for almost. If you’ve ever done yoga or meditation you probably know of other relaxation techniques. Use them when you can.

• Eliminate as many surprises as you can.

  Make sure you know where the test will be given when it starts, what type of questions are going to be asked, and how long the test will take. You don’t want to be worrying about any of these things on test day or, even worse after the test has already begun.

The best way to avoid stress is to study both the test and the material.