How Students Can Ace Tests - Part 2

Image is "Exam" by Alberto G.

In my last article, How Students Can Ace Tests – Part 1, I presented 6 steps to help you help your favorite test taker think like a test maker. I argued that to outthink a test maker, first you must understand how one thinks. A test maker starts with the goals of a test, so that is where we begin. Before your child takes a test, your child needs to know what the test maker wants out of the test. Here’s why.

The purpose of a test reveals important clues. A driving test, for example, is created by the state to help keep drivers safe. Knowing this should tell you that any answer choice that feels risky on this test is unlikely to be correct. On the SAT, which is a timed test, if you see a problem that asks for the sum of 1+2+3...99, you should remember that the purpose of the SAT is to help determine how well-prepared a student is for the rigors of college.

Part of college success requires handling a lot of work in a constrained amount of time. By creating a timed test, the test maker creates a time constraint. By asking a question like the one above, it is absolutely guaranteed that the test maker wants to sucker as many unfortunates as possible into adding up every number. If you root around in the cellars of your mind, you might be able to remember a more efficient formula that tells you to multiply the last number in the sequence (99) by the number one digit higher (100) and then divide by 2. In other words, 9900/2=4950.

The point of the SAT is not to see how quickly you can do repetitive arithmetic. The point is to see if you understand math well enough to find an efficient way to calculate a problem and move on to the next question.

The design choices of a test reveal how best to attack it. To illustrate, let’s take a test with 2 questions that you are allotted sixty minutes to complete. Time management is a crucial aspect of any timed test. To allocate your time wisely between the questions, consider the potential payoff of each one. In our example, pretend the first question counts for 20 percent of the points and the second accounts for 80 percent. No matter how interesting the first question, or how well you can answer it, it would be a bad tactic to give it equal time as the second question. The reason you need to understand test design is to help you prioritize how you allocate your time.

Design choices yield important test taking strategies. For example, on some tests like MCAS, there are no penalties for guessing. That means every question should be answered. On a multiple-choice test with no points deducted for wrong answers, a test taker will have a 1 in 4 chance or a 1 in 5 chance to get a right answer by merely answering the question blindly. On a timed test of one hour, if there are 60 questions and all questions are weighted equally, it is important that you try to answer roughly 1 question per minute. Many standardized tests feature a time limit and this forces you to prioritize your answers to certain questions, surely an important skill.

There is another truly important point to understanding the design of a test. Psychologists report that just the right amount of anxiety is ideal for optimal performance. Apparently, some amount of anxiety helps performance, but too much anxiety decreases cognitive function.

When you are familiar with a type of test question there is less “novel anxiety.” Novel anxiety, like the name suggests, is anxiety that happens merely because something is new. A new thing takes some getting used to before it becomes familiar and non- threatening.

When test takers are already revved up to take a test, the last thing they need is to see a novel question type for the first time. When something is routine and familiar, it requires less conscious thought. If you do not have to expend energy and brain cells on figuring how to answer a question type, you have more bandwidth to apply to answering the question.

I have helped many students improve their standardized test scores simply by familiarizing them with the format of the test and having them practice answering the types of questions. It may seem too simplistic, but the reason why most people tend to improve the second time they take a test is simply because they are familiar with the test and the format. Experience taught them the number of test sections there are, they understand how long the test takes, how hard it is, what type of questions they can expect, and the type of questions they are being asked.

In the next thrilling installment, we will devote time to productive ways to practice and specific proven strategies to improve standardized test scores.

Eric Wright is a longtime educator who has helped improve many of his students' test scores.  If you found this article interesting or helpful, please consider supporting local news by subscribing to Westwood Minute's free daily email newsletter. Just click the blue "Sign Up" button below.