Standardized Exams

I disagree with you. Standardized exams are a good way to determine how a particular person stacks up against other people taking the same test in a particular area of knowledge.

I am assuming that you are takling about tests of knowledge in a particular subject area, or general knowledge. My best advice to you is to pick up a review book designed specifically for the particular test that you are taking.

There is something to be said about learning how to take a test. If you familiarize yourself with the types, kinds and formats of the questions that are on the test, you will do much better than if you take the test "cold".

Most standardized tests have four choices. You usually, at a quick glance, can eliminate two of the choices. Then you need to concentrate on the two that appear to be the closest to the correct answer. Read the question carefully. Often there is a word in the question that will give you a clue as to the answer.

Another thing that I used to do is cover the choices, and think of the right answers w/o looking at the answer. Then check your choices. If what first came to mind is a choice, you've usually got it right.

Another thing. Try not to change your answers after you have chosen them. Often the brain "knows" the answer to a question. Sometimes, I would change an answer, and then find, to my dismay, that my first choice had been right after all.

The way I approached the test, especially if it were timed, was to answer all questions that I could answer easily, I would skip the others. Then I would start again, leaving the "toughies" for last. I would keep doing that until the time was up.

This technique has two purposes. One, you don't waste a lot of time on a question that has you stumped, while the time could be better used to answer the questions that you DO know. Also, you get a more positive sense of mastery by zipping through a lot of questions that are easier for you. This will help keep you energized for the more difficult questions.

Good luck!

fdrhs, I don't usually disagree with Phoenix, 'cause she be very intelligent, but I'm with you on the standardized tests.

There are prep courses, however, for the PSAT and the SAT tests, and the best way to get ready for them is to take those prep classes. Practice is very important; other than that, the remainder of what our fire bird said is spot on.<smile>

ok
I thank you both for your input. However, I feel that passing a test does not make a professional. There are many people who never go to college but can pass any test. Why? How? Some people are good at taking exams; others freeze after stepping into the examination room. So, if person A can pass and person B fails, does this mean that person A is more intelligent than person B or that person B will be unsuccessful in life? I know many (YES, MANY) people who can pass any test without ever going to college. Standardized exams might have a positive outlook but the overall plan is to keep certain groups of people away from success.

Agreed!

What I hate about standardized exams is the inaccuracy. Okay, I suppose you're wondering what I mean by saying that; well, let me explain. One of my biggest nightmares as a young whippersnapper was the English tests. Oh the horrors. You see, I could read a sentence and find the misspelled word and define words left and right so it would seem okay and as if a top grade would be in store for me. Then came the terror of reading comprehension. For the life of me I was not able to stay focussed on the 3 or 4 paragraphs and ultimately I was ill prepared to answer the questions regarding those same paragraphs. That in a nutshell is one of the reasons I feel those exams are a waste.

Moving right along let me get to the next point, that being that I am not a good test taker. I could answer questions in a classroom, speak in front of a hundred students and clearly communicate; yet when the test was placed in front of me I was lost.

As for SAT exams I did reasonably well but nothing to write home about and were it not for the subject major I was interested in far fewer colleges and universities would have expressed interest in me.

End the oppression of exams, free the people!