Preparing Your Students for a Standardized Test

Learning About the Test

Standardized tests differ from one another. Students need to familiarize themselves with the specific test they must take. How can they best do this? There are three steps to preparing for any test.

1. Read about the test.
2. Review the content covered by the test.
3. Practice on questions like those on the test.

 
Reading About the Test

Inform students of the sources that they can consult to learn about the test. Students should:

• know that they can always prepare for a test. At the very least, students can familiarize themselves with the format of the test, the types of questions that will be asked, and the amount of time they will have to complete the test.
• use available materials to learn about a particular test.
• read any information the state or testing company releases. Sometimes the test-writers will release information through the school. If they do not, students can look for information on the testing company's state board or education's Web site.

Reviewing the Content Covered by the Test

In addition to learning about the format of the test, students will benefit from reviewing the subject matter covered on the test. This will ensure that they are ready for both what the test asks and how it does so.

If there are specific objectives or standards that are tested on the exam your students must take, help them review the facts or skills specified by each standard in advance to be sure they are proficient in them.

 
Practicing

The most important part of a student's preparation for any standardized test is extensive practice. Practice tests allow students to become familiar with the content, format, and timing of the real exam. Reviewing practice tests also allows students to review specific areas covered by the exam, to understand why they chose wrong answers, and to learn to avoid choosing wrong answers in the future. Students should:

• practice all the types of questions they will encounter on their test-multiple choice, short response, and extended response. Students should practice on real released tests whenever possible.
• understand the guidelines that will be used to evaluate their constructed responses. Students cannot give the test scorers what they want if they don't know what the test scorers want.

 
Helping Students Apply What They Know About the Test

Make sure students know that they should pace themselves, use the order of difficulty when it is applicable, guess when it is beneficial, and use the process of elimination to score their highest.

Pacing
Students should pace themselves differently depending on how the test is administered.

• If the test is timed, students should work carefully but not allow themselves to become stuck on any one question. As they practice, they should try to increase the number of questions they can complete correctly within the time limit.
• If the test is untimed, students should work slowly and carefully. If they have trouble with an item, they should mark it and come back to it later. Students should keep in mind that they have no time limit, so they should not let themselves speed up unnecessarily.

Using the Order of Difficulty
Not all standardized test are arranged in order of question difficulty, but some are.

• If the test questions are arranged in order of difficulty, then the questions run from easy to medium to difficult, in that order. Students should be extra certain that they get the easy and medium ones correct before moving on to the most difficult questions.
• As they enter the difficult sections of a test that progresses from easy to medium to difficult, students should be aware that answer choices will also become trickier. The obvious answer is probably not the correct answer to a difficult question.
• If the questions are not arranged in order of difficulty (that is, any question at any point could be easy, medium, or difficult), students should skip through the test, answering all the easier questions (and marking the questions they leave for later). They then can go back and answer the more difficult items.

Guessing
Some tests impose a penalty for incorrect answers, usually a fraction of a point. Others do not. Find out if the test your students must take imposes a guessing penalty.

• If there is no penalty for incorrect answers, then students should answer every single question, even if they don't have time to read it.
• If there is a penalty for incorrect answers, then students should only answer a question if they've read it, understood it, and are able to eliminate at least one answer choice.

Using the Process of Elimination
For any multiple choice question, students should know how to quickly and effectively use the process of elimination to narrow down the possible answer choices. Even when they are certain they know which answer is best, students should always confirm their knowledge by reading the other choices and eliminating them.

What is the capital of Western Samoa?
A. Peru
B. Europe
C. Vila
D. London
E. Apia

The question above might be difficult for many students to answer. However, most students will easily be able to eliminate choices A, B, and D, leaving them with a 50 percent chance of guessing correctly. If students do not eliminate any answer choices, they only have a 20 percent chance of guessing correctly.

Students should physically cross out answer choices they have eliminated in the answer book (whenever the testing situation allows) so that they do not mistakenly answer a choice they have mentally eliminated. Crossing out eliminated choices also ensures that students do not waste time rereading an answer that they know is wrong.

If a test has a definite order of difficulty, students should be aware that toward the end of the test it will be harder to eliminate choices, since questions will be trickier and may involve vocabulary and/or concepts with which students are unfamiliar. Students should be sure to eliminate only those choices they understand completely and are certain are incorrect.

Right Before the Test
Students should try to do the following:

• Get at least eight hours sleep each night for the week leading up to the test.
• Eas a nutritious breakfast.
• Bring any necessary paperwork with them to the test, such as identification and registration forms.
• Have plenty of sharpened pencils and erasers available.
• Complete a few warm-up questions the morning of the test, allowing themselves to get into test-taking gear.