TEST-TAKING TIPS

1. READ THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY! Many mistakes are made because students just don't take time to read and follow directions given. Don't assume you know what to do. 2. ABANDON questions that cannot be answered at the time. Make a mark on the left side of the question as a reminder to return to it. Sometimes information in other parts of the test can help answer a question that couldn't be answered before. 3. ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS: Remember, if you leave an answer blank it is automatically wrong. Be sure to complete your test by putting down the answer that you think is the best choice. 4. You should only change an answer if it is marked in the wrong place or you are completely sure another answer is better. Usually, the first choice is the correct one. If you are not sure, you should not change it. 5. Get sufficient sleep the night before.
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TIPS FOR MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS

1. Read the question carefully! Then see if you know the answer before you even look at the choices. 2. Read all the choices given, and pick the best answer. Sometimes questions given two or more answers which are right in some way. You need to pick the one with the best answer. 3. Be sure to read all choices given, even if the first or second seems right. The may all be correct, and the last choice may be "all of the above". 4. If you don't know which answer is right, cross out letters of the choices you know are wrong. Then pick from the remaining choices the one that you think best answers the question. 5. If you have no idea.....multiple-choice items that have absolute words should not be chosen (i.e. always, never, etc.) 6. In multiple-choice questions if guessing is the only alternative and there are no absolute words to help, pick the choice that
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is explained in the most detailed. Choose the longest or most detailed choice.
Test Wiseness
Directions: Use your new strategies to take this test. When you are finished, share answers and reasoning for the choices.

Question 1: What is the primary purpose of the cluss in frumpaling? a. b. c. d. to remove cluss-prangs to patch tremails to loosen cloughs to repair plumots

Question 2: The fribbled breg will ninter best with an a. b. c. d. mors ignu derst sortar

Question 3: Why does the sigia frequently overfesk the treisum? a. b. c. d. All siglas are mellious. Siglas are always votial. The treisum is usually taricus. No treisa are directly feskable.

Question 4: Trassign normally occurs under which of the following conditions? a. b. c. d. when dissies frull when lusp trasses the vorn when the belgo lisks easily when the viskal flans, if the viskal is zortil

Question 5: What probable causes are indicated when doss occurs in a compots?

a. b. c. d.

The sabs foped and the doths tinzed. The kredges roted with the rots. The rakogs were not accepted in the sluth. The polats were thenced in the sluth.

Question 6: The nintering function of the ignu is most effectively performed in connection with the a. b. c. d. arazma tol fribbled breg groshing stantol frallied stanteis

Question 7: The Augustine National Party has it headquarters in a. b. c. d. Camden, New Jersey St. Augustine, Florida Palo Alto, California Dallas, Texas

Question 8: Hermann Klavemann is best known for a. b. c. d. developing all musical scales used in the western world. composing every sonata during the Romantic Era. translating all Russian classics into English. inventing the safety pin.

Question 9: The Davis Act of the 20th century a. b. c. d. provides more money for schools. struck down an earlier law. prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, or use of several specific drugs that were being used for illegal purposes. gave a raise to government employees.

*Source: Nitko, A. J. (1983). Educational Tests and Measurement: An Introduction. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Two Types of Test-Taking Strategies

There are two types of test-taking strategies: short term strategies that can be done shortly before formal testing and long term strategies that need to occur over time within the instructional process. Shortly before the MAP tests and district-wide assessments, strategies for answering multiple-choice items will be taught to students. This will be done within classrooms by grade-level or groups of teachers whose students are scheduled for assessment. Strategies for answering the open-ended constructed response items and the performance events need to occur over time within the instructional process. Teachers throughout the district, in all subject areas, will teach the skills and processes needed for students to be successful in responding to open-ended constructed response items and performance events. All teachers in the district will teach students how to formulate quality answers to open-ended constructed response items by teaching students to: address all parts of the question; include specific examples from the text in the response; make reference to specific characters and titles in the response; give specific examples to support a claim; show the major steps in the solution process (math); give multiple likenesses and multiple sets of corresponding differences when asked to compare and contrast; include a title and labels when creating a graphic organizer; not stop at just one correct answer but to think about and write more correct answers; make sure pronouns are preceded by antecedents in the response; use major elements of the question/item stem as statements in the answer.

All teachers in the district will teach students strategies for being successful on performance events by teaching students to: formulate a strategy to solve complex problems and be able to implement their strategy by following a focused solution process; consider all possibilities when solving a problem, choose the best answer, and justify the reasoning for their choice; consider multiple criteria when solving problems or answering questions (or creating answers/solutions that meet required specifications); interpret data ( i.e. a picture, graph, data, etc.) to make an inference needed to answer a question; organize data in different forms to show meaning (construct a graphic organizer that shows, make a chart to show, draw a series of pictures to show, design a poster that shows, etc.); describe the process used for finding the solutions or tell why the proposed solution is the best.