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.

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The process of applying to independent schools often creates a whirlwind of emotions for prospective students.  Will I like my new school environment?  Will I meet new friends?  Will I be able to manage my new homework and test demands?  And, most importantly, Will I even get in?

Before applying to an independent school, students entering grades 5 through 12 must take the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE).  They need to earn a stellar score on this three-hour SAT-like aptitude test in order to compete with their fellow applicants and earn a slot in one of the ultra-competitive New York City independent schools.

With all the hype centered on this anxiety-ridden entrance exam, is there some way for students to prepare adequately for the test?  The answer isyes.  The ISEE is actually structured in a format that resembles the new SAT test.  It mixes verbal and math questions in multiple choice and quantity comparison formats and ends with a thirty-minute expository writing sample.  Students should take note: the essay portion of the ISEE is actually not graded!  This writing section is included on the exam so that schools can gain a sense of how students present arguments and express themselves on paper.  With this in mind, although the writing portion is not graded, itâ€s still a good idea for students to learn some strategies for how best to build their written expression skills.  In fact, learning strategies for all sections of the test is a sure-fire way to improve oneâ€s overall score.  Practice with these strategies builds automaticity, comfort, and confidence – all keys to exam-day success!

The Test Overview

There are actually three different ISEE tests, depending on the studentâ€s grade level:  the Lower Level (for students entering grades 5 and 6), the Middle Level (for students entering grades 7 and 8), and the Upper Level (for students entering grades 9-12).  The questions, of course, vary in complexity depending on the level of the test.  Each exam is composed of the following sections:  Math I, Verbal (containing synonyms and sentence completions but not analogies!), Reading, Math II, and the essay.  It is important for students to note that there is no penalty for incorrect answers, so unlike the SAT, there is no harm in guessing!

Strategies for the Verbal Section

The Verbal section of the ISEE contains 40 total questions, including sentence completions and synonyms.  For the Lower Level, students are given 40 minutes to complete the questions and for the Middle and Upper Levels, they are given 20 minutes to complete the same number of questions.

Sentence Completions

Within the 40-question Verbal section, 20 of the questions are sentence completions.  The sentence completions are arguably the easiest types of questions on the exam, but they can certainly be confusing without the right strategies.  For these questions, students must select the best word (or words) from the multiple choice selections to fill in the blank (or blanks) and complete the sentence.  Building a strong vocabulary base is of course key for best answering the sentence completion questions, but beyond that, students should use the following practice-makes-perfect strategy:   predicting and plugging.  For starters, the student should read the question without looking at the answer choices.  He should then fill in the blank with a word in this head– anyword, not necessarily a complex vocabulary word – which would make the sentence complete.  For example:

On the day of his grandfatherâ€s funeral, James had a _______ look on his face.

1. Happy
2. Gloomy
3. Irate
4. Ugly

Before even looking at the answer choices, the student should try to complete the sentence with his own word selection.  For instance, he might choose the word sad (before looking at the answer choices) so that the sentence reads:  On the day of this grandfatherâ€s funeral, James had a sad look on his face.

Next is the plugging step.  Once the student has selected what he feels would be a good fill-in-the blank word (or words), he should look at the multiple choice selections and try to find an answer that best resembles his own.  In the case of this example, gloomy is a synonym for sad, so the answer would be (B).

Synonyms

The other 20 questions on the Verbal section are synonyms.  Synonyms are two words that bear the same meaning, like car and automobile, seat and chair, or old and ancient.  Again, for this section, building a strong vocabulary (with lots of reading and learning the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of words), is critical.  However, a great tool for solving synonyms questions is the define and select technique.

Basically, when a stem word (the word in capital letters at the top of the question) is given, the student should come up with his own definition of the word (the define step).  Then he should read each of the multiple choice selections and decide which word best fits his definition.  For example:

GENUINE:

1. fake
2. similar
3. real
4. common

After reading the word GENUINE, the student should first define the word.  Real or authentic should immediately come to mind as possible definitions.  Next, he should select the choice that best fits his definition.  In this case, real happens to be one of the choices, so (C) would be the correct answer.

Strategies for the Critical Reading Section

The critical reading section contains about seven or eight passages (articles, stories, and poems) with multiple choices questions that follow.  Some of these questions can be tricky, and often ask students to identify the topic and main idea of the selection, find facts and figures, and make inferences.   A great tool for this section is the read, summarize, and predict strategy.  It works as follows:

The student should read the passage first, before looking at the questions.  He should try to read at the right pace – not too fast or too slow (the read step).  Practice will help him figure out the right pace.  After reading, he should ask himself what he feels the topic and main idea of the passage are, then create a one-to-two line summary in his mind of what he read (thesummarize step).  Finally, as he answers each question, he should always read the question first, predict what he thinks the best answer would be, and then look at the choices to find the selection that best matches his prediction (the predict strategy).

Strategies for the Essay Section

As mentioned earlier, the essay section is not graded but it is an important way for schools to gain a feel for how students express themselves on paper.  In 30 minutes, students must read the essay prompt (for example:  Living in the country is better than living in the city), think about their ideas, and organize their thoughts on no more than two pages of paper.  Many students lose valuable sleep just thinking about the essay-writing process.  The following tips are sure to help:

The three most important steps involved in the essay writing process are as follows:  brainstorm, write (in an organized fashion),and self-check.  First, brainstorm.  Students should create either an outline or a visual web diagram containing all information that they wish to include in their essay.  They should write out their thesis statement (whether they agree or disagree with the prompt and two or three reasons why) and also list those reasons with specific examples and facts as back-up.  Next, they should write the essay in a structured, organized, and well-thought-out manner.  Finally, they should self-check their work using the acronym COPS, which stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and Spelling.  The acronym should be aligned vertically on the page underneath the essay with a single check-box next to each letter.  Students should self-check for eachelement on the list and place a check in the appropriate box after self-checking that aspect of the essay.

Strategies for the Math Section

The math portion of the exam contains two sections:  Math I, which has 35 questions and allots 35 minutes, and Math II, which contains 35 questions and allots 40 minutes.  The best advice for scoring well on the math section is to learn and re-learn (and practice!) all topics that may be covered on the test.  To answer the questions most efficiently, students must have enough practice with each type of question and the way it may be presented to feel fully comfortable and at-ease with the different types of questions that may be presented.

Remember that if your child is feeling at all nervous about this exam, he or she is certainly not alone!  The ISEE elicits a nerve-wrecking experience for many students.  Yet learning and implementing these tools well before the test date is a promising way to create a successful outcome.  You can also purchase ISEE study guides at local book stores.  One-on-one and small group test preparation is another option for students who need some guidance along the way.  Remember that with enough practice and the right tools, your child is well on his way to independent school admissions success!

Emily Levy is the founder of EBL Coaching, which offers one-on-one and small group academic instruction.  Read more about EBL Coachingâ€s programs at www.eblcoaching.com.

The post Taking the ISEE? Strategies for Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

For many fourth grade students, the thought of enduring a three-day-long statewide math exam gives them more jitters than a trip to the dentist. Most would rather wash dishes every night than endure this dreaded test. Yet for any fourth grade student attending a New York public school, this test is mandatory.

The right test taking strategies, however, can help put this anxiety to rest.

The New York State Fourth Grade Mathematics exam, given over a three-day period from March 6-8, helps determine whether students are meeting grade level learning standards. The test consists of three types of questions: multiple choice, short open-ended, and long open-ended. These questions are designed to test students’ content abilities and thinking skills.

To perform well on this exam, students should become comfortable with the format of this test and the different types of questions that may be asked. They can then learn strategies for how to best solve each of these kinds of questions. In particular, students may see the following problems on the test: Representation, Communication, Reasoning and Proof, and Problem Solving.

Representation

Representation problems typically involve pictures, charts, graphs, figures, or patterns. They ask students to create a drawing to describe a mathematical concept or to choose a drawing from a series of choices which best represents a given concept. To best solve these problems, students must learn to identify key words. Certain key words, such as “draw”, “create”, “label”, and “shade”, help students identify Representation problems. An example may be as follows:

Jack’s garden is a rectangle that is 40 feet long and 65 feet wide. Draw a rectangle to represent the garden. Label the length of each side.

The student should underline the word draw, since that is the key word which indicates that this problem requires the student to draw a representation of the figure.

Communication

Communication problems ask students to communicate an idea or concept. They may ask a student to explain how they came up with an answer or why their answer must be true. Students may be asked to express a mathematical concept in their own words using proper mathematical terminology. To develop proficiency with these types of problems, students should practice communicating mathematical ideas in their own words prior to the test. A sample problem may be as follows:

Two lines are perpendicular. What must be true about them?

To properly answer this question, students must be able to express the definition of perpendicular lines in their own words and relay the properties associated with this mathematical concept. The more practice expressing different concepts, the easier these questions will be.

Reasoning and Proof

Reasoning and Proof problems involve logical thinking. Students must use reasoning skills to prove whether a given statement is true or false. For example:

Richard makes 24 pounds of peanut brittle. He decides to put an equal amount of brittle into 5 boxes. He thinks each box will hold 5 pounds. Is his estimation reasonable? Explain why or why not.

A good strategy for answering Reasoning and Proof questions is to begin with a general statement. This statement should briefly describe the answer, such as “Richard’s estimation is reasonable.” Next, students should provide evidence of their answer. For example, “24 rounds up to 25, and 25 divided by 5 is 5. Thus, Richard’s estimation is likely to be true.” Parents can give students sample questions like this one and can replace the numbers in each problem for extra practice.

Problem Solving

Problem Solving questions ask students to analyze a scenario and come up with a solution. They involve more than just recalling a concept or crunching numbers. Rather, students must think, plan, and solve. Specifically, students should use the ORAS strategy, as detailed below:

Operation: Students should decide if the problem requires a specific operation or a combination of a few operations. For example, the problem may require addition, multiplication, or both. Students should indicate the relevant operation(s) with the proper symbol(s).

Relevant Information: Students should underline any numbers that are relevant to solving the problem. They should also cross out any numbers that are irrelevant to solving the problem.

Arithmetic Sentence: Students should create an arithmetic sentence that can be used to solve the problem.

Solution Sentence: Students should come up with a solution to the problem as a full sentence in their minds.

For example:

Lisa and her two friends went to a candy store. The price of gummy bears was $3 per pound, the price of chocolate squares was $5 per pound, and the price of butterscotch candies was $2.50 per pound. Each of them wanted two pounds of gummy bears and two pounds of chocolate squares. In total, they had $50. How much money did they have left over for drinks after purchasing their candy?

Students should use the ORAS strategy detailed above to solve this problem. They should make sure to cross out the $2.50, a number that is irrelevant to solving the problem. Parents can create similar problems to the one detailed above and create four lines underneath each problem for each step in the ORAS strategy, so that students can practice problem solving at home.

The fourth grade mathematics test can indeed cause anxiety and lead to sleepless nights. Yet the right strategies and lots of practice can help ease these fears and make the test day more welcoming.

The post Get Ready for the 4th Grade NYC Math Test! appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Taking end-of-the-year exams can be one of the most daunting aspects of school. Many students lose well-needed sleep and cringe at the thought of the big test day arriving. By learning some helpful test taking strategies, students can improve their performance on these exams, while helping to strengthen their overall study skills.

Column-Style Study Guides

Learning large quantities of information can be overwhelming for many students, especially when it comes from densely written texts. A helpful strategy for learning this information is to create column-style notes to serve as study guides. Say, for instance, a student needs to learn a text book section about Word War I. He or she should first read that section one sub-section at a time before taking any notes. The student should highlight the main idea of each section in green, or if there is no explicit main idea written in the text, he or she should write an implicit main idea in the margin and highlight that in green. The student should then highlight the important details in yellow, trying to only highlight information that is very important and only words and phrases whenever possible. One the student has finished reading the section, he or she should create a column-style diagram which might look as follows:

Topic: World War I

On the top of the page, the student should write the topic of the section; in this case, World War I. The main idea of each sub-section should be written in the column on the left in his or her own words (Causes of the War, Battles, etc), and the important details from each sub-section should be written in the column on the right. Note that for the important details students can feel free to use abbreviations, symbols, contractions, or any form of shorthand that they find helpful. Students should use this strategy for each section of text that they are required to learn. With this technique, they are able to “chunk” information that was once overwhelming into smaller, easier-to-understand, bits of text.

Memorizing Terms

Students are often required to memorize large quantities of vocabulary words or terms. Without having a photographic memory, this process can be tough. The three-tier note card strategy can be a helpful tool for learning these words and terms. The trick is to write the word or term on the front of the card and then create three horizontal columns on the back of the card, as follows:

The student should write the definition on the top part of the back of the card, in his or her own words. In the second (middle) section, the student should write a sentence with an association to something in his or her life. In the bottom section, the student should draw a picture annotating the sentence. For example, if the vocabulary word to be learned is digress, the student would write that word on the front of the card. On the top section of the back of the card, he or she might write “to stray or deviate.” In the middle section, he or she might write the following sentence: Every time my friend Sally tries to tell a story, she digresses from the main point. In the bottom section, he or she might draw a picture of Sally with a bubble coming out of her mouth with “blah, blah, blah” written inside the bubbles. With this strategy, students learn to link random vocabulary words and terms to various people and events in their lives.

Students should try to avoid cramming these strategies a day or two before the exam. To ease anxiety, they should start applying these strategies well in advance of the test day. By using these techniques they can become active, rather than passive learners, and help prepare themselves not only for one particular exam but for all future exams (and there will be many!) to come.

Dr. Emily Levy is the Founder and Director of EBL Coaching, which offers one-on-one tutoring and intensive summer programs. For more information, visit www.eblcoaching.com or call 212-249-0147.

The post Test-Taking Strategies for Student Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

As students progress through school, they are expected to take countless in-class and standardized tests that include essays. Students are often baffled by this type of exam. How do I begin? How do I write an effective thesis statement? How do I organize my ideas? These are just some of the questions that run through the minds of students who are facing these essay exams. Learning strategies for how to write effective essays for timed tests can help students build confidence, ease anxiety, and ace these exams.

Here is a step-by-step process for how to write a perfect timed essay:

Brainstorm
Even if time is limited, it is always important for students to brainstorm before they begin writing. To do so, students can draw a vertical web diagram with a box on top for the opening and thesis statement, three bubbles underneath it, and a box at the bottom for the conclusion paragraph. They can write their opening sentence inside the upper part of the box and their thesis statement inside the bottom part. Next, they can create branches stemming out of each bubble with ideas for their body paragraphs. Look at the following model as an example for an essay on a prompt that reads: Eating Healthy Food verses Eating Junk Food:

Write the essay
For the introduction paragraph, begin with an interesting, unique remark or story. The paragraph should end with a well-constructed thesis statement to set the organization and tone of the essay. Students can start with a question, general statement, quotation, opposite statement, or story. The thesis statement should always come at the end of the introduction paragraph, and should contain the student’s opinion on the topic and his or her plan for the essay. For example, a well-constructed thesis statement might be as follows: Red House Grill is the best restaurant in town because of its food, atmosphere, and friendly staff. Note that for this thesis statement, the opinion is Red House Grill is the best restaurant in town and the plan is because of its food, atmosphere, and friendly staff. Thus, the first body paragraph of this essay would be about Red House Grill’s food, the second body paragraph would be about its atmosphere, and the third would be about its friendly staff.

The body paragraphs should include details, examples, statistics, quotations, and any other specific information. It is important that the student describes information in detail, with concrete backup from credible sources, rather than just “telling” about it. Remember that if any information is taken from other sources, it must be credited as an outside source.

The Conclusion Should Do the Following:

(1) Restate the Thesis Statement
This is where the student should remind the reader of his or her opinion on the topic and restate the three supporting points. For example, for our Rocking Horse Grill essay, we might start our conclusion paragraph with the following: “Because of its delicious Mexican cuisine, convivial ambiance, and energetic staff, Rocking Horse Grill is one of the best restaurants inChicago.”

(2) Lead-out
he next 2-4 sentences should lead the reader to the author’s final, conclusive remark. The student can reiterate some points about each of the body paragraphs. These sentences should, of course, contain words that are different from those used in the actual body paragraphs.

(3) Concluding Remark
This remark should be conclusive, strong, and perhaps profound. It should leave the reader thinking. For example, a concluding remark for our Rocking Horse Grill essay might be: “The next time you are in town, do not bother with any other restaurants since Rocking Horse Grill has it all.”

Self-check
It is very important that students always self-check their essays when they are done writing. They can do so by using the following acronym:

• Capitalization
• Tense
• Organization
• Punctuation
• Spelling

Students should check for each of these elements, one at a time. By practicing this technique of brainstorming, writing, and self-checking, students can learn to master writing timed essays.

Dr. Emily Levy is the author of Strategies for Study Success, a 13-part student workbook series that teaches students research-based strategies for test taking, note taking, organization, reading comprehension, and writing. She is also the founder and director of EBL Coaching, a tutoring organization based in Manhattan and New Jersey. Learn more at www.eblcoaching.com or call 212-249-0147.

The post How To Take Essay Tests: Tips for Student Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Column-Style Notes for Studying

Many tests require students to understand and recall large quantities of information. Learning how to create column-style notes can help them actively learn this information and create well-organized study guides along the way. Here’s how column-style note taking works:

A student may need to learn and retain information from a passage containing multiple sub-sections about the Civil War. When using this strategy during executive functioning tutoring sessions or independently, they should first read the passage one sub-section at a time before taking any notes. They should highlight the main idea of each section in green, or if there is no explicit main idea written in the text, they can write an implicit main idea in the margin and highlight that information in green. They should then highlight the important details in yellow, trying to only highlight information that is very important and only words and phrases whenever possible. Once the student has finished reading the section, they should create a column-style diagram, which might look as follows:

On the top of the page, the student should write the topic of the section. In this case, the topic is Civil War. The main idea of each sub-section should be written in the column on the left in the student’s own words (Causes of the War, Battles, etc.), and the important details from each sub-section should be written in the column on the right. Note that for the important details, students can feel free to use abbreviations, symbols, contractions, or any form of shorthand that they find helpful. Students should use this strategy for each section of text that they are required to learn. With this technique, which is often used in executive functioning coaching sessions in NYC, they can “chunk” information that was once overwhelming into smaller, easier-to-understand, bits of text.

Read more about executive functioning strategies at Organizational Tools for Academic Success – EBL Coaching.

Three-Tier Flashcards for Memorizing Vocabulary

Many exams require students to memorize large quantities of vocabulary words or terms. Without having a photographic memory, this process can be tough. The three-tier note card strategy can be a helpful tool used during study skills tutoring sessions for learning these words and terms. The key is to write the word or term on the front of the card and then create three horizontal columns on the back of the card, as follows:

The student should write the definition on the top part of the back of the card in their own words. In the second (middle) section, the student should write a sentence that helps them associate the meaning to something in their life. In the bottom section, the student should draw a picture annotating the sentence. For example, if the vocabulary word to be learned is “digress”, the student would write that word on the front of the card. On the top section of the back of the card, they might write “to stray or deviate.” In the middle section, they might write the following sentence: Every time my friend Ella tries to tell a story, she digresses from the main point. In the bottom section, they might draw a picture of Ella with a bubble coming out of her mouth with “blah, blah, blah” written inside the bubbles. With this strategy, students learn to link random vocabulary words and terms to various people and events in their lives.  This vocabulary strategy is often used during study skills tutoring in NYC as well as in executive functioning coaching sessions in Manhattan.

Read more about executive functioning tools at Study Strategies for your ADHD Child – EBL Coaching.

Start Studying Early

To maximize the benefit of these strategies, students should not wait until a day or two before the exam to begin implementing them. Instead, they should plan ahead and start using the techniques well in advance of the test day. The more they practice them, the more internalized the strategies will become, and the closer students will be to achieving test taking success. Executive functioning coaching in NYC can help students prepare for tests and build their overall study skills.

How to Reduce Test Taking Anxiety

Students can reduce their test taking anxiety in several ways. Once effective technique, which can be integrated into academic tutoring or executive functioning coaching sessions in NYC, is by practicing deep breathing. For example, they might try the box breathing strategy, which works in the following way:

• Your child should sit upright in a comfortable position, ideally with their feet flat on the ground, but they can lay down if that makes them feel more relaxed. They should exhale all the air out through their mouth.
• Then they should inhale for four seconds through their nose, trying to fill up their lungs and stomach.
• They should hold their breath for four seconds.
• They should slowly breathe all the air out of their mouth for four seconds.
• They should hold their breath again at the bottom of the exchange for four seconds.
• They should repeat this cycle at least four times, but more times than that is okay too.

To further reduce test taking anxiety, your child can try positive self-talk by reminding themselves they know the information and will do well on the exam. They can also try taking a lot of practice exams prior to the test day to become ultra-familiar with the material.
If your child is struggling with test taking anxiety or executive functioning skills, EBL Coaching can help. Read more about our one-on-one executive functioning coaching and academic tutoring programs at www.eblcoaching.com.

Frequently asked questions 

What are some effective test taking strategies for students?
Students can improve their performance in tests using strategies such as chunking information, creating well-organized notes, studying well before an exam, deep breathing before and during the test, and managing their time effectively when taking exams. Executive functioning coaching sessions can help them build these skills.

How can students reduce test taking anxiety?
Preparing effectively for a test and taking a lot of practice exams can help students reduce test taking anxiety. Additionally, doing deep breathing exercises with a method like the box breathing strategy can also help them reduce their test taking anxiety.

What are some good ways to memorize vocabulary for a test?
A helpful method for learning vocabulary is the three-tier flash card strategy. With this method, students use flashcards and write a definition, an example sentence using the word, and a visual image to help them make a connection to the definition. Study skills tutoring sessions can help students learn strategies for improving their test taking abilities.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder and director of EBL Coaching, a tutoring center that specializes in helping students in grades prek-12 develop executive functioning, reading, writing, math, and organizational skills. She holds her Doctorate Degree in Education and her Master’s Degree in Special Education.

Other Related Blogs:

Differentiating Between ADHD and Autism in Children
Helping Autistic Students Build Stronger Executive Functioning Skills

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