Test Taking Tips for the Georgia High School Graduation Test

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Test Taking Tips for the Georgia High School
Graduation Test
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• Be comfortable but alert and prepared
• Choose a good spot and make sure you have enough
  room to work, maintain comfortable posture but
  don't "slouch"
• Remind yourself that you are well-prepared and
  are going to do well.  If you find yourself
  anxious, take several slow, deep breaths to relax
• Don't talk about the test to other students just
  before it anxiety is contagious

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• Eat a good breakfast. Your brain needs quality
  fuel.
• Bring any required materials (pen, calculator,
  paper, etc.)
• Stay calm. If you find yourself becoming nervous
  or anxious, lean back, close your eyes and take a
  deep breath. Hold it for a few seconds and then
  get back to work. Remember, you are well prepared
  for the test. There is no reason to become
  anxious. Give the test your best effort so there
  will be future occasion to look back on this
  experience with regret.

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Before you get Started

• Understand the scoring! You get a point for a
  right answer. You lose a fractional point for a
  wrong answer. There is no deduction for omitted
  answers, or for wrong answers in the math
  section's student-produced response questions.
• Skip any question if you haven't the faintest
  idea about the answer. You don't lose points.

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Read the directions carefully and ask questions

• This may be obvious, but it will help you avoid
  careless errors
• Know if each question has one or more correct
  option
• Know if you are penalized for guessing
• It makes no difference who finishes first or
  last.  Use as much of the available time as you
  need.

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ALWAYS REMEMBER!!

• Pace yourself! Try to complete the entire test
  with at least 4 or 5 minutes to spare. Then look
  back over the whole test. If you use a
  "scan-tron" like answer sheet, be sure to check
  all your markings! If you leave out an answer
  this may cause you to "get the wrong answer" to
  many questions that you knew cold.

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Answer questions in a strategic order

• First easy questionsto build confidence, score
  points, and mentally orient yourself to
  vocabulary, concepts, and your studies (it may
  help you make associations with more difficult
  questions)
• Then difficult questions or those with the most
  point valueWith objective tests, first eliminate
  those answers you know to be wrong, or are likely
  to be wrong, don't seem to fit, or where two
  options are so similar as to be both
  incorrectWith essay/subjective questions,
  broadly outline your answer and sequence the
  order of your points

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Strategies to answer difficult questions

• Eliminate options you know to be incorrect
• Question options that grammatically don't fit
  with the stem
• Question options that are totally unfamiliar to
  you
• Question options that contain negative or
  absolute words.Try substituting a qualified term
  for the absolute one, like frequently for always
  or typical for every to see if you can eliminate
  it
• "All of the above"If you know two of three
  options seem correct, "all of the above" is a
  strong possibility

• "All of the above"If you know two of three
  options seem correct, "all of the above" is a
  strong possibility

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Elimination Tips

• Number answerstoss out the high and low and
  consider the middle range numbers
• "Look alike options"probably one is correct
  choose the best but eliminate choices that mean
  basically the same thing, and thus cancel each
  other out
• Echo optionsIf two options are opposite each
  other, chances are one of them is correct

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• Favor options that contain qualifiersThe result
  is longer, more inclusive items that better fill
  the role of the answer
• If two alternatives seem correct,compare them
  for differences, then refer to the stem to find
  your best answer

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Guessing

• Always guess when there is no penaltyfor
  guessing or you can eliminate options
• Don't guess if you are penalizedfor guessing and
  if you have no basis for your choice

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• Don't change your answersunless you are sure of
  the correction
• Use hints from questions you knowto answer
  questions you do not.
• Eliminate answers you know aren't right.

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• Do not "second-guess" yourself and change your
  original answers.Research has indicated that
  your first hunch is more likely to be
  correct.You should only change answers to
  questions if you originally misread them or if
  you have encountered information elsewhere in the
  test that indicates with certainty that your
  first choice is incorrect

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Test Taking Tips for the Math Section

• Read through the exam
• With reading through the whole exam you can
• know what is expected of youprioritize items on
  the testpace yourself.

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• Clearly write each step of the solution
• Be neat and don't rush writing numbers down.Keep
  checking your solution as you are
  working.Neatness makes it easier to recheck your
  work
• Double check your math, especially your
  calculator entries
• Double check your calculator work
  immediately.The chances of hitting a wrong
  number are high, but the chances of hitting the
  same wrong number are not

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Review

• Resist the urge to leave as soon as you have
  completed all the itemsReview your test to make
  sure that you have answered all questions, not
  miss-marked the answer sheet, or made some other
  simple mistake

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• Carefully read the instructions
• Make sure you are answering the question that is
  being asked!Often students know how to solve a
  problem, but they misread or misinterpret the
  question itself
• Check that you have correctly rewritten the
  problem
• If you use a scratch piece of paper make sure
  that you correctly rewrite the problem. Don't
  skip steps. Start from the beginning

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• Keep checking that you are placing your answer in
  the correct section and number on the answer
  sheet.
• Don't spend too much time on any one question.
  You should spend only seconds on the easiest
  questions, and hesitate to spend more than 1-2
  minutes on even the hardest ones.
• Practice, practice, practice!
• Bring a watch to the test center. You can't be
  guaranteed that there'll be a working clock
  there.

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Stay Focused!

• Don't Dilly Dally
• If you get stuck on a problem move on and come
  back to it later.When you are finished, recheck
  all your work.
• Know your calculator. Simple functions are all
  that you'll need, just make sure you have
  practiced using it and feel comfortable with it.
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GOOD LUCK