Test Taking Strategies

According to my records, during the last three years, I have completed approximately 70 online courses for my day job (in addition to several instructor led courses).?Many of these courses were required for a 3-level certification.? After completing my certification requirements, I have continued to take challenging online courses to improve my job knowledge and to stay busy as a teleworking professional during slack times.?During my online and instructor-led course work, I have been analyzing and modifying my study habits to help me prepare for the exams (many courses have an exam after each module and an equal number have an end-of-course test (EOCT) upon completion of all modules or lessons).? As a teacher and lifelong learner, I recognize that we all learn, study, and retain information at different rates, different retention levels, and in many different ways.? With our unique backgrounds in mind, I would like to share the methods that have worked well for me and encourage any feedback from readers on recommended different or additional study methods.? I placed my discoveries and recommendations into three categories:? 1) Taking the course and studying for the test; 2) taking the module exams and EOCTs, 3) retaking the exams.

Taking the Course and Studying for the Test

While taking the course, I usually take notes (in a traditional notebook), take screenshots of key points especially illustrative graphics, and endeavor to identify what I call testable items.? Having been a teacher off and on for a number of decades, I have often participated in writing quizzes and exams.? Thinking “like a teacher” helps me as a student (a thought process any student can emulate).? Testable items can usually be identified as lists of key objectives, benefits, challenges, or pitfalls (or a similar category); these items are probably the easiest to identify and often show up in questions that ask you to identify three or two correct statements or one incorrect statement in a list of choices. ?One special kind of list is usually a short list of steps (taking notes helps here as many tests are “open book” but who has time to look everything up and who can remember everything or find anything?). Creating mnemonics and jingles can help if the test is not an “open book” exam.?(In the Coast Guard we remembered Red Right Returning for black and red buoys in a channel.) Other testable items are key concepts such as purpose statements, definitions, comparable points such as what do traditional software engineering practices have in common with agile methods, contrasting points such as the difference between event driven and schedule driven tasks, as well as benefits, advantages, and disadvantages.?This list of key concepts may sound like it covers “everything,” but in most cases examples and long explanations of a concept are not usually testable unless you are taking an essay exam.

Taking the Module Exams and EOCTS

Timing is key here as most of the online courses I have taken are self-paced.? Taking the test too soon, for me, almost guarantees that I will fail at my first attempt.? After a failed attempt, a little (or a lot) of anger usually sets in.? I have to force myself to go back and study before retaking the exam.? Here are a few tips for taking and retaking the exams or EOCTs:

**** On each exam attempt, write down each question and all of the choices (unless the choices are obviously incorrect).? I use a personal shorthand with abbreviations such as req for requirement, L for Leadership, E or Env for Environment, T for Trust or Traceability, and similar abbreviations.?True/False questions are the easiest to record (the shortest).

**** In my virtual campus, the exams list an objective above each question.? Many questions are easy and straightforward, but for tough questions, I try to read the question’s objective.?These objectives often have good clues pointing to the correct response or responses.?In some cases, the objective is a “dead giveaway” toward the correct answer.

**** In my virtual campus, the results of each exam are provided along with a list of Correct and Incorrect responses (without the correct answers).? I flag my list of responses with Incorrect for all of the questions I have missed and then review the material to find the correct response.?Often the correct responses are a verbatim match to the course material and I have read too much into the question or have misread the question, especially if I missed a “not” or “except for.”? In the very last test I took with 30 questions, the last question asked me to mark two correct choices and I marked only one.?Oy vey!? (I wish the exam program would flag those questions as “not answered,” but that is another mission.)

**** If I fail the first attempt, I usually create a study guide in a Word file and I import the screenshots I have taken (annotating my screenshots in some cases).? Sometimes, I create a study guide before my first test attempt, but I definitely do so before my second attempt.

Retaking The Exams

Retaking an exam can be tricky and we certainly want to pass the course or the module on the second or third attempt.?Here are a few suggestions:

**** Read each question very carefully.?Sometimes on a retest, a question will look like the same question as on a previous test but often a minor wording change will be “hook, line, and sinker” if we are not careful.

*** Often the test bank will have a different but very similar question for each course objective.?For example, Test One has a question about an event-driven task and Test Two has a question about a schedule-driven task.?The course objective is the same, but the test question takes a reciprocal approach.

*** Pace yourself.? For our first attempt and for any retake, timing is important.? For 5-question quizzes the “event” is a sprint.? For 30-question tests, I consider the test to be a 10-miler or a marathon.?I like to stretch and fill my coffee cup every 10 questions or so.? In huge auditoriums with proctors, we do not have the luxury to take frequent breaks; however, a tele-tester (at home near a coffee pot) can “self-proctor” and be a kind coach.

Final Thoughts

Some courses have reset penalties such as if you fail three times (three strikes and your progress metric resets to zero percent and you get a “Go Back to Module 1” card).?Other courses are kinder, and you can take the test as many times as necessary to pass.?Strategies and personal preferences will certainly vary.? Some general tips include to study and take exams when you feel rested and reasonably confident about passing.?If you feel stressed, tired, or not confident, a good course of action is to study more and take the test at a later time or the next day.?Any comments on what works best for you??? We are certainly all different; however, learning and achieving are common goals with lessons learned and best practices worth sharing.?Sleep is an essential and most of us are freshest early in the morning.?We are all different, but we all “hate” tests and we hate failing a test even more.

#testprep #studyskills #test

Here's link to test taking techniques from Wichita State University:

https://www.wichita.edu/services/studentsuccess/Study_Tips_Techniques/Test_Taking_Techniques.php

Here's a link to a mini-essay on the leadership advantages of lifelong learning:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7137132973425864704/