Passing tests and exams successfully

When studying at school or college you may be required to take tests so that your teacher can check on your progress. Some of these tests will count towards your final qualification, whereas others are used to check that you have understood the course and to find out whether there are any topics that need further coverage and/or revision. When taking tests you will be more successful if you take note of the following:

 

• Tests should never be missed, even if they don’t count towards your final mark. They have been developed to help you, and if you miss a test you won’t know how well you are progressing and how well you understand the subject.

• You will be less anxious about tests and exams if you know what to expect. Ask your teacher for more information and speak to other students who have already taken this type of test.

• Make sure that you read or listen to all the instructions carefully. If you are unclear about anything, ask your teacher for clarification. Ensure that you adhere to all rules and regulations set by your teacher

• Work out how much time you have for each question. Answer your best question first to build confidence but don’t spend too much time on one particular question. Leave a space so that you can return to the question if you have time at the end. You will receive more marks for partial answers than no answer at all.

• Make sure that your answers are relevant to the question. You won’t get extra marks for padding out an answer with irrelevant material.

• If you find yourself running out of time, jot down the main points that you wanted to include as some examiners will award additional marks for this.

• Keep positive: think about how well you could do, rather than focus on how badly you might do. Don’t think about bad test performances in the past and don’t become distracted by the performance of friends and classmates.

 

Revision help

There are various online revision tools available for students studying at all levels on all types of course. These tools can help you to prepare a revision timetable, write revision notes, make revision cards and share resources with fellow students. If you are interested in using any of these tools, the following websites are good places to start:

 

• www.revisionworld.co.uk  (for school and college students)

• http://getrevising.co.uk  (all levels and qualifications)

• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize  (for school and college students)

 

In addition to these online learning tools there is a comprehensive, free, online revision and examination unit provided by the Open University called ‘Revision and Examinations’. Visit http://openlearn.open.ac.uk to access this course. The unit should take six hours to complete and is useful for students studying at college and university.

 

© 2011 Dr CE Dawson