Many students feel that school is a breeze in the early years of their academic careers. They fly through their homework, ace their class tests, and manage to maintain stellar grades with minimal effort. Yet as students progress through school, the testing demands rise quickly, and it becomes increasingly challenging to rely on their natural-born intelligence as a sole driver of academic success. Help your child improve his test taking skills and learn to ace true false, multiple choice, and essays exams with the strategies detailed below.

True/False

Many teachers include a significant number of true/false questions as part of their self-created tests. While students may prefer this type of exam question, thinking the odds of answering correctly are in their favor, these questions are not always simple or straightforward. In fact, several strategies can help students answer true/false questions correctly:

-True/False Strategy 1: Turn the true/false statement into a question. If your answer is “yes” then the test question is probably true. If your answer is no, then the test question is probably false.

For example: Grocery stores sell fruit.

We can turn this statement into a question: Do grocery stores sell fruit? Since the answer is yes, this test question is probably true.

-True/False Strategy 2: The ‎entire statement must be true in order for the answer to be true.

For example: You can eat pasta with a fork but you cannot eat chicken with your fingers.

The first past of this statement is true (you can eat pasta with a fork) but the second part is false, since you can eat chicken with your fingers! Thus, the answer is false.

-True/False Strategy 3: Learn true/false “clue words” to help you choose the correct answer. “Soft” clue words, including often, probably, sometimes, might, may, or frequently, indicate that the answer is probably true. “Hard” clue words, including no, never, none, always, all, or every, indicate that the answer is probably false.

For example: People often make mistakes.

Often is a soft clue word. In this case, the answer is true.

Multiple Choice

As students move through school, they will encounter multiple choice questions on both in-class exams and just about every standardized test that they will take. Learning specific strategies for how to best tackle them can be helpful for years to come.

Multiple Choice Strategy 1: Eliminate “oddballs,” or answers that seem different from the other choices.

For example: _______ is a summer month.

a) November
b) February
c) July
D) The Beach

Clearly choice D (The Beach)‎ is not even a month and is therefore the “oddball,” so the student would eliminate that choice.

Multiple Choice Strategy 2: Answer the question in your head before looking at the choices.

For example: A ___ is used to open cans.

a) Knife sharpener
b) Can opener
c) Ice cream scooper
d) Serving spoon

Before looking at the choices, the student should determine in her mind that can opener is probably the right answer in this case, then look for the correct choice.

Multiple Choice Strategy 3: Underline key words while reading the question. Certain words give clues to the correct answer, such as except, only, not, never, best, or cannot.

For example: All of the following are sports except:

A) Hockey
B) Soccer
C) Studying
D) Rugby

In this case, it is important for the student to read the word except, or incorrect answers may be selected.

Essays 

In-class exams and standardized tests often require students to write an essay, frequently based on a prompt, like:  “Compare and contrast living in the country and living in the city” or “Persuade your friend to choose basketball as a sport over soccer.”

Encourage your child to try some of these strategies when answering essay tests:

Essay Strategy 1: Underline the directive, which explains how to answer the prompt. Directives include words such as examine, analyze, compare, contrast, discuss, and persuade. Then rewrite the prompt in your own words to ensure that y‎ou understand what the tester is asking.

Essay Strategy 2: Create a brainstorm web for your essay. Make sure you include your thesis statement in the web, which sets the plan for your essay and should be the last sentence of your introduction paragraph.

Essay Strategy 3: Self-check your essay! Try the CTOPS checklist for self-checking, which stands for Capitalization, Tense (consistent past or present tense), Organization, Punctuation, and Spelling.

As your child moves through school, she will encounter increasingly complex tests. Encourage her to try these strategies and she will be well on her way to acing all types of exams.

The post Best Test Taking Strategies for Students appeared first on EBL Coaching.

With the PARCC exams around the corner, many students (and parents) are feeling those all-too-common pre-test jitters. Palms are sweating and heart rates are rapidly pulsing. You can help your child feel more prepared and at ease with the standardized test taking tips and strategies detailed below.

Strategies for multiple choice questions

Many students feel “stuck” when answering multiple choice questions. Some become overwhelmed by the number of choices and others just can’t decide which is the correct answer. Try relaying the strategies below to help your child better answer multiple choice questions:

-For starters, cross of any answers you immediately know are incorrect. This one is a no-brainer.
-Read the question more than once (at least twice) to make sure you fully understand what is being asked.
-Cover the answers. Always read the stem, or body of the question first, before looking at the answers. Try to answer the question in your mind just by reading the question, then see if you can find your answer in one of the choices.
-Look for clue words. Answer choices that have “hard” words like never, always, or definitely‎ are generally less likely to be correct than “softer” words such as usually, sometimes, or probably. Underline these clue words to help you decide on the correct answer.
-If “all of the above” is an option and you are confident that two or more answers are correct, select the “all of the above” choice.

Strategies for short essays

For some kids, writing in an untimed setting is daunting. Yet having to write a structured, well-thought-out written response in a timed setting can seem downright insurmountable. Help your child effectively answer short answer questions using the TAG strategy, as follows:

This strategy helps break down short essay response writing into these steps-

T-Turn around the question to form your answer.
A-Answer the question.
G-Give details to describe and support your answer.

For example, say the prompt is: You just read two articles in support of and against school uniforms. Based on your reading, do you feel school uniforms should be required at all schools? Support your essay with information from the articles you read.

You can answer using the TAG strategy, as follows:

T-Yes, school ‎uniforms should be required.
A-School uniforms should be required because classrooms will be more orderly, kids will feel more equal to one another, and students will focus more on their learning rather than on their clothing.
G-Here your child would provide more details, elaborating on the three reasons ‎why she feels school uniforms should be required.

SAFER strategy acronym

If your child still feels anxious on test day and you’re looking for some final tips, try sharing the SAFER acronym:

S-Save the hard questions for last; complete the problems you know how to do confidently first.
A-Add details and examples to your writing to elaborate on your ideas.
F-Fix your answers (if needed) when you go back to self-check your work.
E-Ease your mind. If your nerves kick in, take a few deep breaths, visualize the ocean or a peaceful garden, and try to relax.
R-Read (and re-read if necessary) passages to find the information you need in order to best answer the questions.

Standardized tests can nerve wrecking experiences for many students. Ease your child’s pre-test jitters with these tips and tools, and he will be well on his way to testing success.

The post Test Taking Strategies for PARCC appeared first on EBL Coaching.