Test-Taking Tips Everyone Should Know

How to improve your score!

The Basics

1. Know the enemy.

To beat the enemy, you must understand them. In our case, the enemy is the test. Here are some essentials to research before you take the exam:

- How is the test divided? What are the different sections?

- How many minutes is each section? What about the whole test?

- How many questions are in each section?

- Is there a break? Are you allowed to talk/eat during it?

- When are test scores coming out? (This question is useful for planning when to take SATs. There is a schedule available to see here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/getting-scores

2. Prepare the essentials beforehand.

- Two #2 pencils

- Two pens with black/blue ink

- An appropriate calculator

- Your test ticket

- Your school ID

Time is money.

How to Guess

1. To guess or not to guess? That is the question.

Most tests reward you for correct answers, but don't penalize you for wrong ones. However, you must research your specific test! Here is a guide on some well-known tests:

SHSAT - No penalty

SAT - No penalty

ACT - No penalty

AP Test - No penalty

SAT II Subject Test - PENALTY! Guess with caution. But if you can eliminate even 1-2 answer choices, guess.

2. Eliminate

3. Need to guess? Stick to one letter.

Whether you have 1 minute to do the 9 last questions or you simply don't know the answer, sometimes you have to guess. In cases like these, you should pick a letter beforehand and stick with it. For example, you can always guess C. With this strategy, you're statistically more likely to get more answers correct than if you jump around choices and randomly guess.

4. One of these things is not like the other.

In multiple choice questions, especially for math, test-makers usually use the correct answer choice to come up with the rest of the choices. The slight deviations are designed to trick the test-taker into choosing the wrong choice.

Watch this short video for a demonstration: