Test Taking Tips

• Tests bring on anxiety. Anxiety can cause you to forget all the information you have learned. Using strategies to develop test-taking skills can help you to relax during the test and perform better. 
• Ask your teacher if they have practice tests that you may be able to use.  If so, try as many different practice tests as possible and research your answers to see if you are correct.
• Be well rested and eat a good breakfast before taking tests and exams.
• For essay tests, if the questions are not provided beforehand, go through your notes and text to make up essay questions.  Answer your own essay questions.  Remember, when taking notes for a class, pay particular attention to the questions your teacher asks.  Write down the questions as these questions have a good chance of appearing on the test.
• If you use specific memory techniques, such as mnemonics, write them down on your test paper as soon as you receive it. 
• Read over the test directions and circle or underline words that will help you to follow the directions precisely, such as summarize, explain, or compare.
• Go through the test and answer the questions you know first.  Go back after and work on those you are not sure of or those that require more thought.  Put a small mark next to the questions you have not answered in order to avoid missing questions.
• When really stuck on a question, skip it and move on.  Don’t waste time on questions you don’t understand or can’t answer.  If you complete the test, go back to those questions you didn’t understand and work on them. 

The strategies listed here may not work for everyone. Choose one or two of the techniques to start incorporating into your study time. This will help you determine if the technique works for you. You may find that one technique works for one subject, while a different technique works for a different subject. Be patient with yourself. Effort and persistence pays off in the end.

You might also be interested in;

12 Things High School Students with ADHD Want Teachers to Know

Ten Suggestions for Winning the Homework Wars

Suggestions for IEPs and Section 504s