Homework Help

Lesson 2: Help for Teachers

Test Taking Skills That Can Be Taught

Following directions: Teach students to always read all directions and understand what they are asking you. This sounds quite simple, but this can be one of the biggest causes of problems on tests. To reinforce this point, I usually gave a "Following Directions" test early in the year, just before my first scheduled test.

This test was for fun - and had these directions: "Read all of the questions first before you begin working." Simple - right? The catch was - I had listed things like "Stand up and say your name" "Tap your pencil 6 times" "Do this math problem (I always made it a hard one!) - just random directions until I got to the last one - usually #20. It was: "Write your name on your paper and don't do any other problems. Fold your hands and sit quietly until the others are done." Students who followed the first direction of reading everything knew that was all they needed to do. Those who just jumped right in and began to do all of the problems were standing up and singing and saying their names and struggling over math problems, while those who had followed the "read it all first" direction just sat quietly and smiled. This led to some great discussions and some more careful test takers.

Skip the hard ones: This is a great time saver and a good test taking skill for students to learn. I instructed my students to give each question a try and then to put a check mark next to ones they were skipping and coming back to. This really accomplished two things. It didn't have them wasting time trying to figure out a problem that was difficult, and risking not finishing problems that they did know. It also gave questions time to "gel" in their minds, and often something else on the test would trigger a memory or help with answering the question. If they had just pondered over that one they were stuck on, they might never have gotten to other questions that might have sparked an answer.

Reread and check over: Whenever I gave a test, I usually called the time left about every 10 minutes or so. I wanted to have students have ample warning that the period was ending and I always encouraged them to check over their work. We practiced this - rereading the question, rereading their answers to be sure they were complete and that they did address the question. I also encourages students not to second guess themselves, but to trust their first instinct unless it was clear that they had made a mistake the first time.

After the test is over, be sure to go over the results with students. Let them discuss questions that they were surprised at, and things they felt well prepared for. This kind of discussion will help them to be better prepared for the next test.

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