Tests are a regular feature in our academic lives, and even more so during our school years. Even though tests are not the most loved aspect of school life, they are necessary for gauging the capacity and potential of students.

However, tests in schools generally tend to bring a lot of anxiety to students, which can ultimately deteriorate performance. With a few strategies up your sleeve, you can get past anxiety and secure good grades.

The Preparation Stage

Before any particular test, students should clarify with their teachers about the things that need to be covered and a rough outline of the questions that might come their way. Once this is done, it would be wise to take heed of the following tips:

It’s better to study a little every day instead of trying to master everything in one day.

Solve text book questions to assess yourself.

For theory subjects that need memorizing, write answers to various questions again and again to improve speed and perfect memory through repetition.

On Exam Day

Read every instruction thoroughly.

Clarify doubts from your invigilator as soon as you have any.

Read the questions and plan ahead.

Leave the questions you can’t remember answers to. You can come back to them later on.

Common Forms of Test Questions and Appropriate Strategies

Here’s the best strategies to face ‘True or False’ sections:

There are a few common words that often reveal that the given statement is false. They include “always”, “every”, “never” and “only”.

For long statements, it is advised to break them down into segments. See if any of the segments are false. One false segment is an indicator that the entire statement is false.

Attempt all ‘True or False’ questions even if you don’t know the right answer to any. Guesswork might get you a few marks as well.

Multiple Choice Questions can be tackled well with the following tips:

Progress by elimination of wrong answers. You perhaps might not know what the right answer is, but knowing what the answer is NOT can also help massively.

Always be on the lookout for interesting choices like ‘none of the above’ and ‘all of the above’.

Fill-in-the-blanks too, are a regular feature of tests in schools, and they call for the following strategies:

If the word ‘an’ is placed before any blank, it means that the first alphabet of the answer is a vowel.

Short blanks generally indicate single world answers, whereas longer blanks indicate phrases.

For Math Questions, the best strategies are:

Writing in a legible fashion, and being able to show the examiner decent work leading up to the answer is important. The answer might be ultimately wrong, but you might get marks for presentation.