Test-Taking Strategies

INTRODUCTION Why You Need to Become Testwise

INTRODUCTION Why You Need to Become Testwise When you take a test-any test-you're really being tested on two things: how much you know about the subject and how much you know about taking a test. Some people were born knowing how to throw a fastball. Some people seem to remember schoolwork without working at it. There are also some people who learn test-taking strategies without any outside help. They're not always the same people as the ones who learn information quickly. Yet they get the same high marks-sometimes higher. With proper coaching and plenty of practice, anyone can learn how to throw a fastball. Our companion book, Study Smarts, shows how anyone can learn and remember schoolwork . This book describes how you can increase your testtaking ability-your "testwiseness," as behavior researchers call it-so you can compete on a par with your instinctively testwise classmates. v vi TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES To begin, we will review a few of the more important principles of pretest studying. But if you need help in learning to study well, read Study Smarts. Most of this book is focused on how to take a test, because that's where the extra points that may change a C to a B or a B to an A really show up. TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES ...