10 Powerful Test-Taking Strategies for Finals Season

This is finals crunch time, and while some people are naturally good at test-taking, everyone can benefit from these practical and proven strategies:

1. Think positively! Athletes would never win a game if in the locker room before the game they said, "We're doomed. We're not good at playing football." The mind tends to believe what it hears. That's why athletes "psyche" themselves up by saying things like "We're going to destroy them! Let's go!"

You don't have to say "I'm going to get an A." You can simply say, "I am going to do better on this test." Say it often. Really mean it. You'll be surprised at the powerful effect positive words and thoughts can have.

2. Take as much time as you are allotted. Don't feel like there's something wrong with you if you aren't turning the test in at the same time everyone else is. In my experience, the last ones to turn in the test on average do much better than the rest.

3. Reread the questions if time allows. Oftentimes, especially in math, the question has more than one part. Test-takers will see the answer to the first part of the solution as one of the choices and forget that the question goes beyond that preliminary answer.

For example, finding the third number in a group of three consecutive numbers is a typical question in Algebra. Usually, the first solution arrived at is the first number in the group, and there is additional computation necessary to find the third number. When the test-taker arrives at the first number and sees it as one of the choices, they choose it and move on. Be careful! If you reread the question, you won't get tricked!

4. When taking a math test, make sure your scratch paper is neat, not chicken scratch. That way when you check your work, you can read it and identify any errors. In addition, beware of reading through the errors. If time allows, rework the problems and if there are discrepancies, you won't tend to miss them as you would if you simply check over your work.

5. Take deep breaths, exhaling slowly too. This allows your brain to get more oxygen. When taking a test, breathing can become shallow and rapid due to the stress of taking a test.

6. Eat a good breakfast high in protein and avoid sugar.

7. Get a good night's sleep.

8. Try not to cram. Study a little every day. When studying for math tests, spend time working additional problems. You can even rework the examples in the book and the ones in your notes, because if you're wrong, you can compare it to the steps shown in the book or in your notes.

9. Close your eyes and think back to what your teacher said. Put yourself back in that place where you studied or learned the concept and picture what your teacher said. It's in your head. Try to recall that moment.

10. Put the "Don't Forgets" at the top of your scratch paper instead of trying to keep it all in your head, like formulas and other helpful information. For example, if you always forget to distribute the negative in an Algebra problem, write "Don't forget to distribute the negative." Then when you go back to check your answers, you should read the "Don't Forgets" at the top of the page to help you check your common errors.