Student Resources

• ALWAYS READ INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. Glance over the entire test, noting which sections should take more time.
• Answer easiest, shortest questions first.
• Answer multiple-choice, true-false, and fill-in-the-blank questions next.
• Answer short answer questions and essay questions last.
• Pace yourself.
• Leave plenty of space between your answers.
• Use your first instinct.
• If you have time, go back and double-check your answers prior to submitting your exam.

True-False Questions

• Read the question carefully and critically assess what the statement says.
• Look for qualifiers (such as "all," "most," "never," "sometimes," "always," or "rarely"). These are key words. Absolute qualifiers such as "always" or "never" may indicate a false statement.

Multiple Choice Questions

• Answer questions in your head first, before looking at answers on test.
• Mark questions you can't answer immediately, and come back for them if you have time.
• DO NOT stop at the first item that "sounds good". If you are having trouble telling the difference between the choices on many multiple choice test items, then you have not learned the material at the right level for the class. Learning comes in "levels". For example, the most superficial is knowing that a machine is a bicycle. Another level is being able to describe how the bicycle moves. A deeper level is being able to sit on the bicycle and move. An even deeper level is explaining the role of the bicycle in health and fitness. An even deeper level is being able to evaluate the impact of the bicycle on the environmental system. And a very deep level is being able to use the bicycle to create something no one has seen before, a bicycle ballet or a water pumping system. Most college work involves learning at least at the level of riding the bicycle but you may only be studying at the recognition level.
• Don't change your response from the first choice you pick unless you realize you have misread the item. Research shows that your first choice is more often the right one (it is information bubbling up from your brain).

Machine Graded Tests

• Be careful that the answer you mark corresponds to the question you are answering.
• Check the number of the question against the number you are marking on the answer sheet whenever you switch sections and again at the top of each column.
• Watch for stray marks.

Open Book Tests

• If given a choice, vote against them! They are usually much harder than closed-book exams.
• There will not be time to look up each question, so prepare adequately even though it is "open-book."
• Write any formulas/basic information you will need on a separate sheet.
• Use tape tabs (post-it notes, paper clips) to indicate important pages.
• If using your notes, number the pages and prepare a table of contents.

Essay Questions

• Read questions carefully and thoroughly .
• Assess what is being asked. Many essay questions have multiple parts. It helps to break the question apart into sub-questions that must be answered. This will help you make sure you have answered the question in its entirety.
• Read the essays first, then as you answer multiple choice questions see if there are clues to help you with the essay questions.
• A common pitfall when taking essay exams is not writing enough. Practice actually helps. Create essay questions from your course material and write answers to them.
• Review your answers for grammatical errors, clarity and legibility if you have time.

1. Write as clearly as you can. If necessary use blank lines between sections, write within the margins and use only one side of the paper - do what you need to in order to make your writing legible. If your teacher can't read what you wrote, then credit cannot be assigned.
2. Consider using a pen, as they produce more readable writing in most cases.
3. When possible, write on one side of the page only. Writing often bleeds through and obscures the writing on the other side, making it difficult to read.
4. Trust yourself: If you have studied effectively, then trust that the information will emerge if you give it time and context. Start writing/responding, reflecting on questions and let the information emerge.
5. Never leave a question blank—you will surely earn nothing. It is better to guess and hope that your brain will pull out some piece that is connected.

Change unproductive stress/anxiety into productive energy. Change takes time. Change occurs unevenly. It is a very individual process so you must learn what works for you.

Step 1. Evaluate your Anxiety

What are your stress symptoms? Some of the most common symptoms of stress are headache, backache, muscle tension, upset stomach, and sweaty palms. The first step toward solving a problem is assessment so you know the nature and severity of the problem.

Which types of exams are creating anxiety for you? The least?

Arrange them into a hierarchy from least to most anxiety arousing.

Least > to > Most

If you talked to others, you'd find variation. For example, some despise essay, others prefer them. Some like multiple choice, others tremble at them. Some prefer history-type tests, others math-type tests. On the discussion board feel free to share what type of tests you most dislike or prefer and ask others to report theirs.

The Test Experience

The test experience can be thought of in three parts:

1. Pre-test period
2. Test period
3. Post-test period (and even subdivided further if it makes sense for you)

What portions of the test experience are least to most anxiety arousing for you?

Least > to > Most

Again, there is variation, some aren't anxious until the test is over; some calm down once the test begins. What is your pattern?(Notice, this is ever more detailed assessment. As the problem is defined or assessed, it becomes more manageable).

Step 2: Learn to Deal with Anxiety

Start with low stress situations. As you have success with anxiety reduction skills, move on to slightly more anxiety-arousing situations.

You reduce anxiety by "nibbling around the edges"-- learning to handle the easier situations first.

Do all of the following suggestions. A common error is to make a half-hearted effort with one technique and then to quit when it doesn't work. Reducing anxiety requires an across the board approach.

You must unlearn habits and that takes effort. Expect it to take a while. Expect to stumble.

A common error is to think you should never "slip back" but "slipping" is normal. Learning is not a smooth process. Stumbling is not a problem if you learn something from stumbling.

Anxiety Prevention

First, don't do anything to worsen the anxiety.

Evaluate yourself and different situations. What do you do that makes it worse? How can you stop or replace those behaviors?

Your goal is enough anxiety to perform optimally but not too much, typically, that's a low level.

How can you prevent test anxiety?

Avoid unproductive self-labels (e.g., "Anxious person," "Don't test well," "A failure")Substitute productive ones (e.g., "I care about school," "I'm passionate")Prepare for the examAre you studying effectively not merely studying "hard"? Amount of studying does make a difference (read and re-read) but quality of effort also has an impact. There are many sites with study skill suggestions. Keep learning about how to study. (I'm still learning!)How can you improve your reading skills? Visit http://edtech.tph.wku.edu/~ppetty/collegereading.htm scroll down about halfway and look at row of links starting "Students: Volume".

• Time management: The goal is reasonableness in your use of time. When/where are you most effective at managing your time so you aren't cramming?Physical Health. Athletes train, so can you. Your physical health (sleep, nutrition) affects your concentration.Set reasonable goals. It takes time to change a grade a whole letter level...generally you get a few points with each innovation.Use test feedback. Look at your returned exams and profit from them. Look for patterns in what you did ineffectively --do you do worse on the middle chapters? or the ones studied longest ago? or the most recent set? Then devote more time to them.
• Be realistic: If you want a different grade next time, you have to do something differently. Research finds that people who end up getting a D or F in the course always think they'll pull it out next time, even when, by the math, it is impossible to do so.Being realistic also applies in positive directions as well. Some very good but very anxious students never appreciate what they have actually accomplished because they worry so about the next exam. Seeking excellence is different from seeking perfection. The former is do-able, the later is impossible for a human.Seek to enjoy what you are studying. It is hard to be anxious when having fun. Use the anxiety as energy. Make studying a game, connect it to a hobby (e.g., illustrate your notes if you like to draw; Consider how the course material could enhance your fishing or crafting). Everything is interconnected in this world. Take it as a challenge to apply what you know and love to new material.

Step 3: Learn Active Coping Skills

Goal: Catch anxiety at the lowest level and moderate it. Try to interrupt the vicious cycle and build a virtuous cycle instead.

What are some ways to cope with tension once it begins?

• Know thyself: Identify your early signs of stress and start practicing prevention techniques before it gets bad.

Moderate your muscle tension by using the following techniques:

• Take a mental vacation: Imagine you are in a relaxing place with no people present. (People are stressors, even people we like).
• Practical Relaxation: Try placing your feet flat on the floor, your hands in your lap, your back and head straight, but not rigid. Inhale slowly through your nose to the count of 5 (a slow count) hold for 10 count. (Notice the muscle tension in chest, etc). Exhale through mouth for a 10 count (twice as long as you inhale.) (Notice the feeling of relaxation in the formerly tense muscles.) Repeat with your eyes closed and noises, distractions eliminated.
• Mental coping using the techniques of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. REBT says stress happens from the following steps (notice the words that spell out A-B-C-D):There is an Activating event (e.g., an exam is announced.)You have an irrational Belief. This is an implicit, typically reflexive or unconscious value, identifiable by the words "should," "ought," "must".

For example, "I must do well on the exam or it would be terrible!". This belief is irrational because it assumes you can know the future. It is also irrational because in life you don't have to do anything but die-- all else is optional (even paying taxes). (Yes, there are consequences to all choices and some consequences are less pleasant in general, but it is still a choice.)The Consequence is you feel anxious.If you can Dispute the belief (e.g., "It would be nice to make an A, but a lower grade won't literally kill me. It might be unpleasant but I won't be dead.") then you can relieve the anxiety. Beliefs and effective Disputing statements are very individual. The disputing sentence has to make sense to you.

• If you are having trouble telling the difference between the choices on many multiple choice test items, then you have not learned the material at the right level for the class. Learning comes in "levels." For example, the most superficial is knowing that a machine is a bicycle. Another level is being able to describe how the bicycle moves. A deeper level is being able to sit on the bicycle and move. An even deeper level is understanding the role of the bicycle in health and fitness. An even deeper level is being able to describe the impact of the bicycle on the environmental system. And a very deep level is being able to use the bicycle to create something no one has seen before, a bicycle ballet or a water pumping system. Most college work involves learning at least at the level of riding the bicycle but you may only be studying at the recognition level.
• If you earn a grade on a test that you are unhappy with, but study exactly the same for the next test, then you should expect to earn the same grade as before. A change in grade requires a qualitative change in studying.
  • Studying "more" is a first step, especially if you aren't meeting the minimum traditionally recommended of 3 hours outside of class/week for each credit hour of class (thus 9 hours/class). However, you could study 9 hours and still not do well if you aren't using deep learning techniques that build connections. These techniques require your full concentration and are indeed hard work. After all, you could study the names of bicycle parts for many hours, but if you can't ride the bicycle (which requires integrating a whole set of skills) you won't pass the course.
  • Avoid "reading into" trivial elements of items. Instructors don't have the time or interest in trying to trick you. Most of that student folklore about test items is false. Instructors' motivation is to find out if you know the material and can use it, plain and simple. Over interpreting font choices, formatting or other trivia distracts you from the real purpose of the test—to find out what you know. If a test seems tricky to you, it is most likely that you haven't learned the material at a sufficiently deep level.
• A good study method is to write test questions from the course material along with the answers, either multiple choice or essay (essay works best). You are likely to write at least a few that will appear on the exam.