For many students, taking tests is nerve-wracking, uncomfortable, or boring. They often feel that their test scores don't adequately reflect their abilities. Maybe they felt the pressure to do well and felt like they forgot everything; maybe they felt like the test questions were confusing; regardless of the reason, a number of students know the feeling. If you are looking for a way to help your son or daughter do better on standardized tests, like the SAT or ACT, there are a number of tips and strategies that can help them get higher scores.
How to Test
Naturally, one of the first things that come to mind when people think about test preparation is studying. They may hope that, if they can learn all of the material, they will do better on the test. Although understanding the material is important, many test preparation courses focus on learning how to take a test. For example, when questions are multiple choice, there are usually one or two possibilities that are obviously incorrect. Once the student has eliminated these two, they can focus on the two choices that are left. If they are taking the ACT, it is best to guess the answer. With two possibilities, they have a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. With the SAT, they receive one point for every correct answer, zero points for an unanswered question, and lose a quarter of a point for a wrong answer. While it may be best to leave some answers blank, sometimes it may be better to guess, especially if it is possible to eliminate one or two of the options.
Different Learning Styles
Contrary to popular opinion, it is actually possible to improve a score on the reading comprehension section of the test. One of the best things to do is to improve vocabulary knowledge. Because everyone has different learning styles, studying vocabulary can be different for each person. For those who are visual learners, consider using flashcards. Auditory learners might try saying the words and the definitions out loud so that they can remember them. There is also research that suggests that people remember more if they study while walking or moving around. By learning more words, people will naturally have higher reading comprehension.
Stay Healthy
Finally, it is important for students to take care of their health. In order to reach their optimum performance level, the best thing that they can do is to always take care of their body. They should get enough sleep, eat healthy food, and spend time every day doing some type of physical activity. All of these things are important aspects of both physical and mental health. It allows them to maintain focus and alertness and shortens reflex time.
These are a few of the many things that people can do in order to prepare for standardized tests. These things will make a big difference on testing day. Not only will students have better strategies to rely on during the test, but they will also have more confidence going into the exam so they will be able to focus better on the tasks at hand, rather than thinking about how nervous they are.
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Lawrence Reaves writes for www.SchoolTutoring.com, an online resource for those who may need a little extra help preparing for the SAT. For more information about SAT help and help with other subjects visit http://schooltutoring.com/test-prep-main/sat-tutoring/
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