Test Taking

Cal Newport provides us with test taking strategies in his book, How to Become a Straight A Student. He states, “Years of informal experimentation by successful students have demonstrated that the most effective way to tackle an exam is to answer the easiest questions first, and this is exactly what you should do.”(Newport 119). The effect that this has had on my academic achievement is that it has allowed me to get better grades. Tests are the most important part of getting straight As, and being able to take them efficiently and effectively are imperative to having success as a student. Using Cal Newport’s strategy, I have been able to get the highest number of points possible in a shorter amount of time. For example, starting first on the easy problems will get you the most points possible, so then you can use the remaining time to do the difficult problems that you’re not so sure about. If you do a test in the order the questions are presented, if you get to a question you don’t know how to do early on, you may end up taking too much time on it and become rushed near the end. Doing the questions from easiest to hardest eliminates this problem. Cal Newport also says that double checking your work up to the last minute can make the difference between an above-average student and an academic star. (Newport 122). Using this test taking strategy, I have been able to effectively utilize all of my given time for my test instead of wasting precious minutes. In the past, I have been lazy about double checking, but now that I have tried it, I noticed many errors that were easy to correct. If I hadn’t checked my work, I would have missed many easy points. What are your strategies for tests, and how well have they worked in the past? If you’re not satisfied with your test scores, do you think it’s time to utilize some of these strategies to maximize your test scores? Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.