Hey again you guys! Thank you so much for the warm response on my last post. Even though it's been AGES (sorry, I'd been meaning to write more posts, but work got in the way), I hope my review on the Chemical Engineering review centers here in the Philippines was able to help a lot of you. Anyway, AFTER 9 MONTHS (this post was sitting on my drafts folder for 9 FREAKING MONTHS), I am here with a new blog post on a few strategies that will help make test taking easier.
By standardized tests, I mean tests that require everyone to answer the same set of questions. These tests are usually multiple choice and can be corrected in a jiffy using machines. Examples of these include board exams, civil service exams, scholarship exams (like DOST Scholarship exams), college entrance exams, SATs and the like.
These are strategies I have practiced all throughout my years in school and these have helped me pass several entrance exams (PSHS-NCE, UPCAT, ACET, DLSUCET, DOST-SEI Scholarship Exam and the Chemical Engineering Board Exam. Wow, I just realized as I was typing this that I passed all the major exams I took. Praise God!) despite not being the smartest person, or not learning everything I needed to know by the time I took these tests.
I can be quite lazy so I pick up the slack using a strategy. I work smart more than I work hard. A lot of you may be familiar with these strategies I am sharing with you, but maybe some haven't so let me share them to you all the same.
I can be quite lazy so I pick up the slack using a strategy. I work smart more than I work hard. A lot of you may be familiar with these strategies I am sharing with you, but maybe some haven't so let me share them to you all the same.
Before anything, know that some of these tests are designed to measure how much you know in a short period of time. This means that everyone is given a same amount of time to answer and get a high enough score to reach the cut-off or passing rate. So, for a greater chance at a higher rating, it's best to optimize to increase your chances of passing.
1. Answer everything you are 100% sure about.
This may not sound like a lot but I am serious! For the first few minutes, go over the test questions and answer those you know. For sure, you will be feeling nervous for the first few minutes, so it's best to build some much needed confidence by answering those items you know. (Did you notice? We are big on confidence on this blog! hahahaha)
2. The Power of Elimination.
After we pick out all the questions we are 100% sure of, we eliminate. Multiple choice exams usually have 4 or 5 choices, yielding a 20-25% chance to get the answer right. So, what do we do? We eliminate choices to get our chances to increase. For a four-choice test, eliminating one wrong choice increases our chances of getting a correct answer to 33.33%, and eliminating 2 increases it to 50%. And I dont know about you, but I would rather have a 50% chance of getting it right than 25%.
But, note that elimination is not as easy as it sounds. You actually have to know a bit about the topic before you eliminate because some examiners can be cunning. They will give you some choices that can confuse you, so ALWAYS READ THE QUESTION TWICE OR THRICE BEFORE ANSWERING. Identify what is actually being looked for.
3. Think logically.
There are some questions that ask you to Choose the best statement/s to describe the following, or ask Which of the statement/s are true? Then proceed to give you a set of statements like:
i. Red is a primary color
ii. Blue is a secondary color.
iii. Red, Blue and Yellow are secondary colors.
Which statements are true?
A. i only B. ii & iii C. i & ii D. all are correct
So, you know red is a primary color, so statement i is correct. But, you still have to read the other statements because, for example, in choice C, statement ii is lumped with statement i. So upon reading, you know that blue is not a secondary color, therefore, statement ii is wrong. Therefore, you can eliminate choice D (because not all are correct) and choices B & C because they contain statement ii and are left with choice A.
But, note that elimination is not as easy as it sounds. You actually have to know a bit about the topic before you eliminate because some examiners can be cunning. They will give you some choices that can confuse you, so ALWAYS READ THE QUESTION TWICE OR THRICE BEFORE ANSWERING. Identify what is actually being looked for.
3. Think logically.
There are some questions that ask you to Choose the best statement/s to describe the following, or ask Which of the statement/s are true? Then proceed to give you a set of statements like:
i. Red is a primary color
ii. Blue is a secondary color.
iii. Red, Blue and Yellow are secondary colors.
Which statements are true?
A. i only B. ii & iii C. i & ii D. all are correct
So, you know red is a primary color, so statement i is correct. But, you still have to read the other statements because, for example, in choice C, statement ii is lumped with statement i. So upon reading, you know that blue is not a secondary color, therefore, statement ii is wrong. Therefore, you can eliminate choice D (because not all are correct) and choices B & C because they contain statement ii and are left with choice A.
4. Reverse Engineer.
This is a tip especially for Math or Engineering-based questions. When we were in grade school, our Math teachers would always teach us how to know if our answers were correct by checking back. Why not do the same for your exam?
There are times when you are given numerical answers, so if you forget the formula, just look at the answers and try to substitute it with the given. Or try to apply dimensional analysis to cancel the units. Sometimes this method is even faster than solving the whole problem from scratch.
I know engineering students are really good at this ;)
5. Calculate your partial score.
One thing I did when I took the board exam was try to estimate my exam score. To pass the Chemical Engineering Board Exam, we were required to have an average of 70%, with a score of at least 50% on each of the three exams.
The second day, Chemical Engineering Principles was my weakest subject and I knew it, so my goal was to ensure I had at least 50% on that test so I could guarantee my passing.
So remember the tips on #3? What I did was count how many of the answers I was 100% sure about, 50% sure about, 33% sure about and 25% sure about. I then multiplied them by their multiplier (100%, 50%, 33.33% and 25%) and then added it up to get my projected score.
Example:
28 (1) = 28
24 (.5) = 12
33 (.33) = 11
15 (.25) = 3.75
Total = 54.75
That's more than the 50% required, so you're in the clear. But, let me remind you, this is just to give you an idea of what score you could get and is not a guarantee. The score could go up or down. If you feel like that's not enough breathing room for you, try to go back to the other choices that you could improve. For example, try to improve your 33% chances to 50% to get your score up.
6. The Power of B/C
When all else fails and you can't eliminate any more answers, just try to go for the B or C. I read that there was a psychological (or even a scientific) reason for it, something about outliers (the first and last option) being less likely to be correct. Anyway, I do have a classmate who was in a pinch and used the power of C, and she passed the board exam.
It's not a guarantee, but it could help.
You don't need to resort to the crazy tactics they used on Bad Genius. In fact, you don't need to know everything. You just have to know enough. And I can't stress it enough, have a good grasp of the basics, because they're the foundation.
My favorite thing about Math is that I don't need to memorize all the formulas, but I do know how to derive them so I can come up with the ones I need even with the littlest given data.
Hope these tips help you! God bless on your exams! :)
This is a tip especially for Math or Engineering-based questions. When we were in grade school, our Math teachers would always teach us how to know if our answers were correct by checking back. Why not do the same for your exam?
There are times when you are given numerical answers, so if you forget the formula, just look at the answers and try to substitute it with the given. Or try to apply dimensional analysis to cancel the units. Sometimes this method is even faster than solving the whole problem from scratch.
I know engineering students are really good at this ;)
5. Calculate your partial score.
One thing I did when I took the board exam was try to estimate my exam score. To pass the Chemical Engineering Board Exam, we were required to have an average of 70%, with a score of at least 50% on each of the three exams.
The second day, Chemical Engineering Principles was my weakest subject and I knew it, so my goal was to ensure I had at least 50% on that test so I could guarantee my passing.
So remember the tips on #3? What I did was count how many of the answers I was 100% sure about, 50% sure about, 33% sure about and 25% sure about. I then multiplied them by their multiplier (100%, 50%, 33.33% and 25%) and then added it up to get my projected score.
Example:
28 (1) = 28
24 (.5) = 12
33 (.33) = 11
15 (.25) = 3.75
Total = 54.75
That's more than the 50% required, so you're in the clear. But, let me remind you, this is just to give you an idea of what score you could get and is not a guarantee. The score could go up or down. If you feel like that's not enough breathing room for you, try to go back to the other choices that you could improve. For example, try to improve your 33% chances to 50% to get your score up.
6. The Power of B/C
When all else fails and you can't eliminate any more answers, just try to go for the B or C. I read that there was a psychological (or even a scientific) reason for it, something about outliers (the first and last option) being less likely to be correct. Anyway, I do have a classmate who was in a pinch and used the power of C, and she passed the board exam.
It's not a guarantee, but it could help.
You don't need to resort to the crazy tactics they used on Bad Genius. In fact, you don't need to know everything. You just have to know enough. And I can't stress it enough, have a good grasp of the basics, because they're the foundation.
My favorite thing about Math is that I don't need to memorize all the formulas, but I do know how to derive them so I can come up with the ones I need even with the littlest given data.
Hope these tips help you! God bless on your exams! :)
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