From an academic point of view, a test is usually given to students, to assess how much they know about one subject or another. To address any problem, one has to acquire skills which give them an upper hand over whatever they are to deal with. Students tend to get nervous or even get stressed when they hear that they are to undertake a test. Therefore, it is necessary for students to have skills or methods to implement when studying for the test, while doing the test and what to do after the test.
Better studying techniques and strategies lead to achieving better grades. As we all know the understanding ability differs from one student to the other. Therefore, students may differ on their preference in their study mode.
One thing is clear though, for studies to become easy, one has to formulate a way in which it is fun to handle them. There are simple ideas that make a whole lot of difference while taking certain studies. One should make sure that the room he is studying in has the right temperature and ventilation. Lighting is also a necessary factor. One’s eyes need not to strain while reading concepts, especially while studying scientific or mathematical models. For a study to take place, the student must be up to date on the notes given out. Therefore, have the necessary material for studying available and a select suitable place of studying where interruption is minimal. This plays a significant role to the student’s concentration.
Another easy but important thing to know is that one needs to keep healthy while studying. One should make sure that there are some healthy snacks around if need be. A student needs to take short breaks after a while of study, in order to give the mind enough time to absorb all the information that has been presented. Most students are likely to accumulate notes and do their studying a night before the test. This is the worst thing a student can do to his/herself especially if the notes are a lot. The best option is to review the notes immediately the class ends or space out your reading throughout the period of schooling. Students must make sure that they comprehend whatever they are studying so that one does not spend a lot of time re-read. This time may be used to cover another topic.
Reading information bit by bit assists in easy retrieval and remembering of information by the memory in the brain. While reading the information, it is crucial for one to be taking down the main concepts or fundamental ideas in the topic in summary format. These notes help out in that they have the ability to help one keep some information for a long time in his memory. Retaining data in the mind is essential while reading for these exams. One cannot assume the importance of having a firm grip of concepts while he is just about to take a test. As they say, two heads are greater than one, it is vital to form a study group. This group should consist of students undertaking the same subject and should be students whom you are comfortable interacting. In the study group, the students can examine themselves by asking each other questions. This is essential since one can know the areas where they are strong and weak points. At the same time, students may get to learn new ideas that they never came across and this builds confidence before taking a test.
When approaching the day of the test, the student is advised to put shorter studying periods than before, let say around one hour to each subject. Frequent short session of reading helps a lot in remembering. This is essential when reading the summary notes that he/she wrote previously. Mnemonic techniques are important since they assist one in remembering definitions, graphs and tables, formulae and the like (Kellogg, 2002).
If revision materials such as past papers are available, it is advisable to review them in order to get an idea of how question is set and what to expect. This is an excellent method of avoiding test anxiety in the test venue. Students tend to extend their study time than usual when test is to be taken the next day. This may affect the concentration while taking the test. It is advisable to rest enough before taking a test.
On the day of taking the test, arrive at the test venue early and sit where it is comfortable, that is if there are no sitting arrangement procedures. Make sure that all the appropriate materials (pencils, pens and others) are in place. Being relaxed in the test venue is important, and this can be done comfortably through breathing in and out at several occasions, since this relaxes the muscles.
When issued with the test papers read the instructions carefully and go through the whole paper first before answering any questions. This may help to get an overview of what is to be done, gives one a strategy on how to tackle the test and budget your time. Never rush to finish a test, pace yourself. If there is no clock in the test venue, bring your own. This is necessary for time management.
Most students tend look at colleagues to look at their friends to see if they are writing. This is not advised because it ruins self-confidence. If students think that they might forget some information, he or she can quickly write the information down either at the back of the answer booklet or the margin. If one writes at the margin, make sure that is erasable so that the examiner does not confuse the answers of the questions asked and the information written for reference.
It is advisable for a student to tackle the easier questions first. This may help to relax yourself and build your confidence. If the student comes across a hard question, they should not spend time on it. Leave it and go to the easier question but remember to come back to it before the test duration elapses. Sometimes, some parts of the test may have ideas that may assist to answer the question which you hard no idea of. Questions that are matching are good to begin with since they may assist in remembering relevant definitions and terminologies. If time is a factor, do the questions with the greatest points first and then go to the rest.
Many students have a problem of assuming what the examiner what to ask. Read the whole question first, identify the keywords such as to define or explain, and underline them. The purpose of answering a question is to show how good one can explain and give support to your point. Therefore, do not leave any loophole while answering the questions.
A convincing answer may entail a direct response to the question asked, talk about the areas in discussion in the question, provision of general and specified information about the question and it is advantageous to use the technical vocabulary of the subject at hand to show that one understands whatever you are talking about.
The hand writing differs from student to student. Make sure that whatever you write is legible. If the person marking the test does not see what you have written, there is a high possibility that they will mark the answer wrong. It is hard to give a student the benefit of doubt in a test, so make sure the writings are legible.
Legible hand writing is not the only problem students have; misspelling words is also an issue. Technical terminologies may mean a different thing or even become meaningless misspelled. Therefore, the student must be able to write the correct spelling of every term in a test. Proofreading your answers may help to correct some of this mistakes after finishing writing you test. Always make sure whatever written makes sense. Finally, after cross checking your test, make sure that your details are on the answer booklet i.e. the name and registration number.
When the examiner has brought the marked test back, go through it and check whether there is grading mistakes or correction. While going through the paper be sure to note down your mistakes. Going through the test paper may help one to know areas where you are strong and weak during test taking. If one has no idea why you got a question wrong, ask a colleague, search for the correct answer from books or ask the teacher.
If the teacher happens to revise the paper, make sure that one writes down notes on what he or she expected for an answer to the question at hand. One should learn to take in the lessons that mistakes teach. This is highly essential if one wants to improve future results of test given. Do not throw away your test paper, one needs to save it as material for studying tests to come.
Formative evaluation plan finds out the instances when there are met goals, missions and other objectives which goals and objectives. The formative evaluation plans give a chance to make changes before finishing the course. This type of evaluation is mostly used by teachers in teaching. This helps a teacher to know what he or she missed while teaching and come back to it later.
The main difference between a summative and a formative plan is that in summative plan, the evaluation occurs after the teacher covers the entire course to assess whether the course objectives are met, that is, whether the students learned whatever was in the course outline. In some cases, the working of the formative plan evaluations is assessed by the summative evaluation plans, and adjustments may be made here if necessary. For example, if a teacher gives out a test and notes that the students did well in part 2 than in part 1, he or she knows that there was a problem in that section and needs to go back to the topic to elaborate more (Daniel L. Stufflebeam, 2007). Generally summative evaluation is an assessment of learning while formative evaluation is an assessment for learning.