Test Taking

Test Taking Strategy
ON BECOMING TEST -WISE
Strategy # 1: Know yourself
TEST TAKER PROFILE
The Rusher
Rushes to complete the test before the studied facts are forgotten Answers questions rapidly and is generally one of the first to complete
Experiences exhaustion once test is over
The Turtle
Moves slowly, methodically, deliberately through each question Repeated rereading, underlining and checking
The Personalizer
Mature person who has personal knowledge and insight from life experiences
The Squisher
View exams as threat, rather than an expected event in education Preoccupied with grades and personal accomplishment
The Philosopher
Academically successful person who is well disciplined and structured in study habits Displays great intensity and concentration during exam
The Second Guesser

Answers questions twice, first as an examinee, second as an examiner Believes second look will allow one to find and correct errors Frequently changes initial responses (ie. grades own test)
The Lawyer
Attempts to place words or ideas into the question (leads the witness) Occurs most frequently with psychosocial or communication questions which ask for the most appropriate
response
STRATEGY
#2 Develop Your Thinking Skills
Understanding Thought Process

Thinking occurs on six levels the lower level of memory and comprehension and the
higher levels of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation
Building your thinking skills

Technique #1: Quantity is NOT quality, so concentrate on learning important content.
Technique #2: Memory from repetition, or saying something over and over again to remember it, usually fades. Developing memory skills which trigger retrieval of needed facts is more useful.
Acronyms ABCs Imaging
Rhymes, music and links
Technique #3: Improving higher level thinking skills involves exercising the application and analysis of memorized facts.
STRATEGY #3 Know The Content
Preparation for studying: Getting organized.

Technique #1: Create your own study space. Technique #2: Define and organize the content. Technique #3: Conduct a content assessment.
Technique #4: Develop a study plan. Technique #5: Begin now and use your time wisely.
Getting Down To Business The Actual Studying:

Technique #1: Study in short bursts.
Technique #2: On Cramming (avoid it!)

Technique #3: Give your brain breaks. Technique #4: Study the correct content.
Technique #5: Fit your studying to the test type. Technique #6: Use your study plan wisely. Technique #7: Actively study. Technique #8: Use study aids.
Technique #9: Know when to quit.
#4 Become Test-wise
STRATEGY
Technique #1: Recognize the purpose of a test question. Technique #2: Recognize the components of a test question.
THE ANATOMY OF THE QUESTION

Situation Information that you need to think about to answer the question Stem Treatment that generally follows the case situation and asks you something very special about the information in the case situation Options The potential answer
Technique #3: Identify the key word(s) in a test question.
Technique #4: Recognize the item types.

select the one best answer
selection of multiple correct answers
ONE BEST ANSWER

Type A - selection of the best response among those offered Type B - match the options with the appropriate statement Type C - compare or contrast two related conditions Type X - respond either true or false to each option
Technique #5: Read the directions to the questions carefully. Technique #6: Apply the basic rules of test taking. Technique #7: Make educated guesses.
Technique #9: Be prepared for exam day.
Basic Rules For Test Taking
Use time wisely and effectively
Know the parts of a question

Read question carefully Identify intent of item based on information given Answer difficult questions by eliminating obviously incorrect options first
Know and use test-taking principles!!!
STRATEGY
#5 Psych Yourself Up: Taking tests is stressful
Technique #1: Adopt an I can attitude. Technique #2: Take control.
Technique #3: Think positively.

Technique #4: Project a positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
Technique #5: Feel good about yourself. Technique #6: Know yourself. Technique #7: Failure is a possibility. Technique #8: Persevere, persevere, persevere!
Technique #9: Motivation is muscle. Technique #10: Overprepare.
Test Taking Strategies

READ CAREFULLY
1st reading: Read whole question until the last option
2nd reading:
Know the issue Look for keywords Make final answer

AVOID ASKING YOURSELF WHAT IF

DETERMINE IF QUESTION IS FALSE RESPONSE OR TRUE RESPONSE

TRUE RESPONSE
The question is looking for the correct option Write T before the number of the question to remind you that the answer should be a CORRECT option
Example: The volume of urine excreted in a 24 hour period by an adult patient was 500 mL. The correct term to be used is?
A. anuria
C. polyuria
B. oliguria
D. dysuria
The questions asks you to answer a TRUE response ( note the keyword CORRECT) about the term used for the urine volume of 500 mL over a 24 hour period. The answer is: B. oliguria

FALSE RESPONSE
The question is looking for the WRONG option
CLUES:
NOT INADEQUATE LEAST AVOID
INAPPROPRIATE
And others
Example:
Which of the following statements regarding vitamin K is NOT true?
A. there are two sources of vitamin K; vegetables and bacteria B. vitamin K converts precursor molecules into functional coagulation factors C. heparin inhibits the action of vitamin K D. vitamin K is fat soluble
The question asks for a FALSE response ( note the word, NOT TRUE) Answer: C, the one that inhibits the action of vitamin K is warfarin (coumadin)

FALSE RESPONSE
Write F before the number of the question BE CAREFUL! Not all questions with AVOID, NOT etc. do not always mean the question is a false response one.
USE ELIMINATION PROCESS:

Eliminate wrong options if the question is a T Eliminate correct options if the question is an F
ABSOLUTE WORDS ARE USUALLY WRONG

Absolute words: ALWAYS, NEVER
ALL, EVERY
ALL THE TIME ONLY, NONE They LIMIT the scope of the option.
Example:
An immunofluorescence test using reagent antibody directed against the CD3 surface marker would identify which of the following cell types in a sample of human peripheral blood?
A. most circulating T- lymphocytes
B. T helper lymphocytes only

C. T supressor lymphocytes only D. natural killer cells only
Answer: A. most circulatingTlymphocytes (note the letters B, C and D has the word only, limiting the scope of the options)

UMBRELLA OPTION
An option that covers all other options
Example:
Normal urine is consist of:

A. water, sodium chloride B. water, urea C. water, urea and sodium chloride D. urea and sodium chloride
Answer: C, note the all the options could be seen in option C.

USE QUESTIONNAIRE AS SCRATCH PAPER
Dont dwell on 1 question Answer the whole situation first before shading on the answer sheet NEVER ANSWER EVERYTHING ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE PROCEEDING TO SHADING. Its best to answer by situation and shade by 10. This can make you save time.

USE QUESTIONNAIRE AS SCRATCH PAPER
Dont write anything on the answer sheet EXCEPT for those instructed
Answer per situation

Mark questions which you cannot answer Leave these questions and proceed to the next one
KNOW THE LANGUAGE OF MULTIPLECHOICE QUESTIONS

The question in its entirety is called a test item. The portion that poses the question is called the
stem.
Potential answers to the question or problem posed are called options. The incorrect options are called distractors.
Read questions carefully.

Options Deal with the question as it is stated, without reading into it or making assumptions about it. Answer the question asked, not the one you would like to answer.
ELIMINATE CLEARLY WRONG OR INCORRECT ANSWERS.
Eliminating obvious distractors allows more time to focus on options that appear to be potentially sound answers to the question.
IDENTIFY SIMILAR OPTIONS. The correct option will usually either include all the similar options or exclude them entirely.
Example:
An antidiuretic hormone deficiency is associated with a: A. specific gravity around 1.031

B. low specific gravity
C. high specific gravity

D. specific gravity of 1.035
Answer: B. low specific gravity
Note: the options A, C and D are substantially the same, which indicates a high specific gravity
IDENTIFY ANSWER (OPTION) COMPONENTS.
When an answer contains two or more parts, you can reduce the number of potentially correct answers by identifying one part as incorrect.
Example:
After removal of the RBC from circulation, hemoglobin is broken down into:
A. iron, protophyrin and amino acids
B. iron, protophyrin and globin

C. heme, protophyrin and amino acids D. globin, amino acids and iron
Answer: B. iron, protophyrin and globin Note that the rest of the option contains amino acids which is a product of protein metabolism.
IDENTIFY SPECIFIC DETERMINERS.
Specific determiner the stem word that gives a clue to a similar word in the option
IDENTIFY WORDS IN THE OPTION THAT ARE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH WORDS IN THE STEM.
Be alert for words in the options that may be closely associated with but not identical to a word or words in the stem.
Example:
Routine screening of urine samples for glycosuria is performed primarily to detect:

A. glucose C. bilirubin B. galactose D. ketones
Answer: A. glucose
Note: glycogen is metabolized into glucose, hence the word glycogen is associated with the word glucose.
BE ALERT TO RELEVANT INFORMATION FROM EARLIER QUESTIONS.

Occasionally, information from one question may provide you with a clue for answering future questions.
PAY ATTENTION TO SPECIFIC DETAILS.
The well-written multiple-choice question is precisely stated, providing you with only the information needed to make the question or problem clear and specific.
If options in an item do not seem to make sense because more than one is correct, reread the question; you may have missed some key words in the stem.
WATCH FOR GRAMMATICAL INCONSISTENCIES.
The correct option must be consistent with the form of the question.
WHEN IN DOUBT, REREAD THE ANSWER CHOICES TO OBTAIN CLUES, RATHER THAN REREADING THE QUESTION.
When you come across a question that is about unfamiliar content , ask yourself: What is the topic of the question? What do the answer choices mean?
Then reword the question using the clues the options. from
WHEN YOU DONT KNOW THE ANSWER CHOOSE THAT WILL CAUSE YOU THE LEAST HARM.
MAKE EDUCATED GUESSES.

You have at least a 1 in 4 (25%) chance of guessing the correct answer. Elimination of 2 distractors on a 4-option multiple-choice item increases your probability of selecting the correct answer from 25% to 50%. Stay with your first answer unless you have a very specific reason to change it.
What you dont know wont hurt you . . . .
. . . . .except in an examination!!!

Test Taking

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Test Taking

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Test Taking

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Test Taking Strategy

ON BECOMING TEST -WISE

Strategy # 1: Know yourself

TEST TAKER PROFILE

The Second Guesser

#2 Develop Your Thinking Skills

Understanding Thought Process

higher levels of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation

Building your thinking skills

Rhymes, music and links

STRATEGY #3 Know The Content

Preparation for studying: Getting organized.

Getting Down To Business The Actual Studying:

Technique #2: On Cramming (avoid it!)

Technique #9: Know when to quit.

THE ANATOMY OF THE QUESTION

Technique #3: Identify the key word(s) in a test question.

Technique #4: Recognize the item types.

selection of multiple correct answers

ONE BEST ANSWER

Technique #9: Be prepared for exam day.

Basic Rules For Test Taking

Use time wisely and effectively

Know the parts of a question

Know and use test-taking principles!!!

#5 Psych Yourself Up: Taking tests is stressful

Technique #1: Adopt an I can attitude. Technique #2: Take control.

Technique #3: Think positively.

Technique #9: Motivation is muscle. Technique #10: Overprepare.

Test Taking Strategies

Test Taking Strategies

Test Taking Strategies

Test Taking Strategies

Test Taking Strategies

Which of the following statements regarding vitamin K is NOT true?

Test Taking Strategies

USE ELIMINATION PROCESS:

Test Taking Strategies

ABSOLUTE WORDS ARE USUALLY WRONG

Test Taking Strategies

A. most circulating T- lymphocytes

B. T helper lymphocytes only

Test Taking Strategies

Normal urine is consist of:

Answer: C, note the all the options could be seen in option C.

Test Taking Strategies

Test Taking Strategies

Answer per situation

KNOW THE LANGUAGE OF MULTIPLECHOICE QUESTIONS

Read questions carefully.

ELIMINATE CLEARLY WRONG OR INCORRECT ANSWERS.

An antidiuretic hormone deficiency is associated with a: A. specific gravity around 1.031

C. high specific gravity

Answer: B. low specific gravity

IDENTIFY ANSWER (OPTION) COMPONENTS.

A. iron, protophyrin and amino acids

B. iron, protophyrin and globin

IDENTIFY SPECIFIC DETERMINERS.

Routine screening of urine samples for glycosuria is performed primarily to detect: