"Hacking" Standardized Tests: Part II
Learn the hidden rules of Standardized Tests from an insider because if your PQ isn't high enough, your IQ will open only so many opportunities.
After the College Admission Scandal and after experiencing the great divide between marginalized and privileged populations, I realized a more equitable environment could be created by sharing the hidden rules of the Standardized Testing game. They are not going anywhere anytime soon. From meter readers to professional football players, high-stakes exams are found in nearly every career field. While the score earned does not define a person, it does often label them. Job applicants are denied opportunities everyday because of a single performance on one day of their life.
Information and knowledge should be free and accessible to all; not used as the fulcrum in power dynamics. After writing questions for several testing companies, grading high-stakes exams, and conducting statistical analysis on over 300 standardized tests (in a variety of content areas, career fields, and years), once my NDA expired I wanted to try to decrease the divide between the "haves" and "have nots".
Like the phrase "life hack", in this situation, "hacking" is used to imply that test-takers will be given strategies and shortcuts to manage time more effectively, to highlight talent more to expertly, and to utilize treasure more efficiently.
When you are studying for a high-stakes test, separate sample test questions into 3 piles: "I have no clue" what to do, "meh" (the middle ground), and "I got this". These "hacking" strategies are meant to convert the "meh" into "I got this" so that you can earn a higher score and more opportunities will open for you.
When you start an exam, first do your "I got this" questions so that you remain calm, you increase your confidence, and you decrease your anxiety. When you are nervous, your brain goes into Fight or Flight mode, temporarily shutting down, and making the information "stuck". Your mind is protecting itself from fear and avoiding too much stress.
On the questions you are able to ELIMINATE ANSWER CHOICES but still to double check, put a circle or highlight yellow. On the questions you have no clue what to do, put a ? or highlight orange.
In addition to following the C-B-D-A method, test-takers can also use the following strategies on timed exams in order to make an more educated guess:
- The longest or most complicated answer choice
- None of the above/All of the above (only these phrases appear on random questions)
- For numerical answers, list them least to greatest and then follow the same pattern: 3-2-4-1 (3rd largest number, 2nd smallest number, largest number, and smallest number)
For the multiple-choice portion, an algorithm will quickly grade the standardized test. For fill-in-the-blank, short answer, essay, and free-response questions, it is often graded by a person. There are very few companies that require graders to be highly qualified. More often than not, these questions are graded by someone without an education degree. They use the answer key given to them and are not allowed to deviate. For instance, if a test-taker writes " 2.49 cm" or "2 1/2" instead of "2.5", then credit is not given. {This is one of the reasons I recommend people to formally dispute their grade earned if they are on the lower end of a cusp.}
For a more detailed explanation, I recorded myself helping some students:
You can also download a shareable document that I give to students: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WPfWhTD9upuJEOE7s9wkoYUYGgck4LsB/view?usp=sharing
Part I:
