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  • Tips on Studying for Multiple Choice Exams

    Tips on Studying for Multiple Choice Exams

    In many college and university classes, instructors will use multiple-choice or Scantron exams because they are much quicker and easier to grade. Can you imagine marking short-answer and essay exams for a class of three hundred? As a student, you need to learn how to effectively study for multiple-choice exams.

    First, start studying early! This advice applies for all tests, but I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to start studying early. You are given your class schedule at the beginning of the semester, so there is simply no excuse for getting caught by surprise by the test date. Ideally, start studying at least two weeks before the exam.

    Second, get copies of old multiple-choice exams for the course you are studying for. It is better if these old exams were also written by the same professor that is currently teaching your course. Don’t just read through the exam questions, but actually work through them and answer them. This will give you experience with the kinds of multiple choice questions you might expect during your actual test.

    Third, there is another advantage of taking old exams. Because your time is limited, you need to be strategic about how you use your time. By answering old exams, you can now identify areas where your understanding and knowledge recall is weaker. Focus on the areas where you are less confident. Once you have brushed up on these topics, take the old exams again and see how much you’ve improved!

    Fourth, do not neglect specific details. You might think that since it’s a multiple choice exam, you can figure out the correct answer by the context. This is good advice for when you are taking the exam, but do not become reliant on this. Your professor may ask questions where options (a) to (e) differ by just one or two words. For these kinds of questions, it is difficult to figure out from the question and the options what is the correct answer, if you do not know it. So make sure you study the specific details as well as the broader concepts.

    The secret to acing multiple-choice exams is preparation. There is no magic. Just follow the tips above and you will find your multiple-choice exams a less stressful experience!

  • Tips to Help Students With LD Pass High-Stakes Tests

    Tips to Help Students With LD Pass High-Stakes Tests

    A growing number of students now take tests that determine whether they will advance to the next grade level. If students do not pass these tests, they may be held back one year, which can damage self-esteem, lead to frustration, and increase their chances of eventually dropping out of school. A growing number of high school students now take exit exams that determine whether they will graduate with a standard diploma. Students who do not pass these exams often find themselves with limited options after high school.

    High-stakes tests can have serious consequences for all students, but they pose a particular challenge for students with learning disabilities (LD). Due to their one-size-fits-all format, many parents and educators believe that standardized tests tend to reflect a student’s disabilities rather than his or her abilities. With so much at stake, it is critical that students with LD be well prepared and receive the support they need when taking such tests. Parents should not confuse high stakes tests with the tests given by the school to meet the requirements under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). These tests hold states and districts accountable for poor student performance, but do not require states to impose personal accountability on students.

    Reasonable Accommodations
    Students with learning disabilities, who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), are entitled to appropriate accommodations while taking high-stakes tests.

    Accommodations are changes to testing materials and procedures that can help to “level the playing field.” The purpose of accommodations is not to give students with LD an unfair advantage over other students, but rather to assist them in demonstrating what they actually know.

    A student with dyslexia, for example, might know the answers on a multiple choice test, but not have enough time to read all of the questions. A reasonable accommodation for this student would be to receive additional time. Depending upon a student’s disabilities, accommodations can be made with regard to the setting, timing, or scheduling of the test, how the information is presented, what additional materials can be used and how the student is allowed to respond. An accommodation could be:

    • receiving extended time;
    • using a computer with spell-check;
    • listening to an adult read the instructions and/or test questions; or
    • taking the test in a separate room or with a small group.

    How Parents Can Help
    Parents should play an important role in helping their children navigate high-stakes tests. It is often up to parents to work constructively with the school to make sure that their children have every opportunity to succeed. Here are some tips for parents:

    • Talk early on with your child, your child’s teacher and the IEP team to determine which accommodations your child needs while taking high-stakes tests. (Note: Ideally, accommodations should be the same or similar as classroom instruction. However, some accommodations are only for instruction and cannot be used on state/district tests.)
    • Find out if there are any accommodations that your child needs that are not allowed by your state, district and school during high-stakes testing.
    • Make sure that your child’s IEP clearly spells out appropriate accommodations for both testing situations and classroom use. (Note: You should clarify whether your child will be permitted to use accommodations for testing that he or she has already been using in the classroom as part of everyday learning.)
    • Check to see whether your child has been taught the content and skills on which he or she will be tested.
    • This is important because sometimes students with LD have not had sufficient instruction in the general education curriculum upon which the tests are based.
    • Should your child fail a high-stakes test, make sure that there are multiple opportunities to retake it.
    • For a small percentage of students with LD, accommodations may not be enough to level the playing field. If you and the IEP team decide that your child needs an alternate form of assessment, work closely with school personnel to determine which type of alternate or modified assessment is best suited for your child.

    The Bottom Line
    No one test can accurately measure all of the skills, knowledge and abilities of a student. When students with LD take high-stakes tests, they deserve the same opportunities as other students to demonstrate what they know. When parents and schools work together, students with learning disabilities can have the support they need when taking tests that may determine so much about their future.

  • Note Taking: Not as Scary as You Might Think!

    Note Taking: Not as Scary as You Might Think!

    Taking notes is a formidable task for students in high school and college. There is a lot of information to take in daily from each class, and that amounts to a lot of writing. But fear not, young student! With the following tips, you will soon have bountifully overflowing notebooks filled with all sorts of useful knowledge. First things first, however: why take notes at all when there are textbooks available?

    There is a huge difference between writing a sentence and reading it. For instance, you finished reading that sentence in likely a quarter to a third of the time it took for me to write it. If I had written it by hand, the gap would be even larger. When you write out your notes as opposed to just reading them in a textbook, it is like eating with chopsticks instead of a fork. This is because you are eating more slowly and giving yourself time to digest every bite. When you pay attention to the things you’re writing and think about them more, you’ll have achieved what every student strives for: retention of information. Retention is when you keep something in your memory. Instead of just passing through your mind in that moment, you will remember it later. But taking notes is boring, right? You might think so, but it does not have to be.

    Depending on how you prefer to learn, you can make your notes as detailed as you want. However, they should be understandable to you. Styles range from writing down keywords under main points to drawing and labelling pictures. When you are in class, try out a few different methods. Do you like your pages neat and organized with headings for every point? Perhaps you like to have your sub-points all aligned neatly down the page for easy reading. Or maybe you prefer a mind map, with the central idea in the middle with each concept in an offshoot of its own. As long as it is understandable and gets the important points of what you are learning across, then those notes work for you.

    The next logical step, then, is using the notes you have created. They have already been of benefit to you with regard to recalling information, as already discussed. However, you will likely take a lot of notes between tests and there is no way you will remember everything simply because you wrote it down. If your notes meet the above criteria of being understandable and containing the knowledge you will need to do well on your exam, they will be easier to study because you created them yourself. Because of this, you are much more likely to succeed when you take and use notes in class.

    So don’t be afraid of taking notes. With a little organization and practice, they will be of great used to you. Try it out for yourself to see just how easy it can be.

  • Preparing for Exams and Mid-Terms

    Preparing for Exams and Mid-Terms

    Stress – that’s often the first word that comes to mind when students think about studying for finals, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a number of steps you can take to cut back on the stress and anxiety you inevitably feel at test time. Try some of the suggestions below. They should help you feel more prepared and confident going into the exam.

    1. Accept the fact that you have to study. There is no easy way out. Sleeping with a text book under your head will not make you magically absorb all of the information in the book you never read. You just need to realize you HAVE to do some work.

    2. Don’t wait until the last minute to start studying. Cramming will make you more stressed and you won’t be able to remember as much info.

    3. If you are an overly organized person, put your skills to good use. Create a chart to document when, where and for how long you will study each subject. For example: Monday, 6-8 p.m., campus library, History. This will ensure you have enough time to adequately prepare.

    4. If you are a less rigid kind of person make flashcards and recite them while doing household chores, brushing your teeth, riding the bus to and from school, and between commercials while you’re watching the latest episode of The Voice.

    5. Don’t plan to study somewhere super comfy like in bed, wrapped up in a warm furry blanket, surrounded by twenty fluffy pillows. Chances are you will end up doing more napping then studying. Do however find a comfortable chair and work space large enough for all your text books (and snacks) with good lighting. It’ll make life a whole lot easier.

    6. Turn your phone off or, at the very least, set it to vibrate and only check it every 45 minutes (and then only stay on it for 10 minutes). Phones, tablets, iPods, etc. are great, but are very distracting. Contrary to popular belief, being a Candy Crush savant will not help you when it comes to school work.

    7. Before you start studying, write down everything you know about the subject. That way you’ll have a better grip on what you still need to know and what you don’t need to focus as much time on.

    8. Study with friends – but actually study. Don’t just sit around and chat. Your friends can be a great resource. If they were in the same class as you chances are they may remember stuff you don’t.

    9. Read through all your class notes. If you don’t understand a definition or a particular theory, try looking it up online. If you have time, ask your teacher for help.

    10. Take breaks, get exercise, sleep well and eat well. It’s not just studying the material that’s important. Your body needs proper exercise, sleep and nourishment to function at its peak.

    11. Know the material in your own words. This will ensure you actually understand it and haven’t just memorized a text book. It will also increase your confidence and your ability to answer any question thrown at you about the subject.

    12. Make sure you know where and when the exam is and how long it will take you to get there. Try to arrive about 30 minutes early, but don’t do any more studying for about 15 minutes before the exam. This will give you time to calm yourself and get acclimated with your surroundings. Scope out a good seat; get out all your necessary supplies (water, pens, pencils, calculators, scrap paper, etc.). If you have a favorite song that calms or relaxes you, listen to it on your iPod. Music often has a calming and soothing affect and can help put you in just the right mind set before you begin writing the exam.

    The important thing in avoiding exam stress is to be prepared. You may still be a little nervous, but you will have the knowledge and confidence to succeed.

  • What Your Marks Really Mean

    What Your Marks Really Mean

    For many students, grades can be a very stressful part of going to school. Report card time can be difficult, especially for anyone who is close to failing a course. It can also be hard for students at the higher end of the grade range, wondering if they can keep up their high scores to help them succeed in the future. With high marks, they think, they will have good opportunities and a bright future. Grades have traditionally been used to show how well students have learned their material, but how much do they actually mean? Should you be concerned about the marks you get?

    Depending on what you want to do with the rest of your life, your high school marks could be quite important. Many universities and colleges use marks to help them decide which students they should accept. For some programs an average mark is enough, but for other programs a high mark is necessary. Often, a small difference in marks could mean that one student gets into the program while another has to wait for another year or go somewhere else. This is especially true in areas like medicine and dentistry, where schools accept only a limited number of students and academic expectations are high. In fields such as education or sociology the emphasis on grades is usually much less obvious, although expectations of students are often still high.

    High marks are good for getting into university programs, but are they really useful for anything else? Probably not, except in a very general way. In your school you have probably noticed that different teachers have very different standards, with some giving high marks and others low ones. Schools all have their own ideas of what makes a good student, and there is very little consistency among them.

    One of the problems with marks is deciding how to measure achievement. Until 1967, each province required students in Grade 12 to pass a standard exam which showed that they all had the same knowledge of areas such as writing, mathematics, science, and literature. Since then, however, schools have been able to set their own standards, and the result has been very uneven levels of education.

    Another problem is known as grade inflation. Since about the middle of the 1980’s, the grades that students have received in high school and university have slowly risen, so that more people now are receiving a grade of A or B in their classes than ever before. That could mean that students are actually better than they were in previous years, but many educators are not sure. Factors that are raising the marks could be increased competition for university programs or job insecurity among teachers who want to keep parents and students happy.

    If marks are such uncertain measures of learning, what do they mean for you? If you want to go to university, you’ll still need good grades. Otherwise, you might want to think about whether marks really reflect your learning. After all, learning is what really counts.