How to Ace a Test (For Students of All Ages)

Would you like to know how to ace a test?  Do you feel like, “I’m smart, I’m just not a good test taker?”  Test taking requires a certain set of skills that is not always taught in school.  Many teachers give tests assuming that if their students know the answers they will perform well on a test, but that is not always the case.  So if you’d like to know how to get better grades and really ace a test the next time, read on. 

Step 1
Prepare yourself every class session for learning everything you can in order to be prepared for your test.  This means having good attendance, taking notes and really listening during lectures, participating actively in workshops, and asking your teacher for clarification when you need it.  For more tips on these skills, see resource links below this article. 

Step2
Study every night.  For tips on how to study effectively, check the resources at the bottom of this article.

Step3
Provided you follow those 3 prerequisite steps, you should have the information you need to do your homework.  Relax the night before.  The night before a test is not the time to cram. Try to relax and get a full night's sleep. Eat a well balanced breakfast (and dinner the night before, for that matter).

Step4
Arrive a little early because if you're late you may feel flustered and distracted.

Step5
Read the whole test before answering the questions.  If you get stuck on part of the test, read the rest of it. Sometimes a question further along in the test gives you a hint or triggers your memory about the question you're stuck on.

Step6
"Read" the testing environment.  If you're having trouble recalling a specific fact, look around the room. (Not at others' tests, obviously!) But studies show that the visual cues in the environment where you learned a fact can trigger your recall of that fact on a test. If you were looking at the flag when the teacher told you what year WWII started, glancing back at the flag could trigger that memory.

Step7
Finally, just as you do when completing assignments, make sure you answer every part of every question. If you're not sure about an answer, it's usually better to go with your best guess than to skip it (but check with the teacher because some tests are graded differently).

Step8
Try your best always.  Good luck!

How to Ace the 4th Grade Reading MCAS Exam (For Parents)

If you live in Massachusetts, and you have a fourth grader, you are probably aware of the pressures of the 4th grade reading MCAS exam. There are many similarities between the MCAS 4th grade test and the one they took last year in third grade so you probably know how important MCAS preparation is.  These challenging reading comprehension tests involve texts that, by some measures, are at a sixth grade reading level.  One of these reading comprehension tests involve reading comprehension questions, and writing a paragraph response to it. If you are looking to help your child practice writing paragraph responses to reading comprehension questions for the 4th grade reading MCAS practice tests, go over these steps with him or her.

Step1
After you download a practice MCAS test from the MDESE website, read the 4th grade reading open response MCAS sample question. This way as you read the MCAS practice tests you can find answers to underline in the reading comprehension passages.

Step2
Read the passage in the MCAS 4th grade reading comprehension tests and underline details that answer the open response MCAS exam question.

Step3

Write MCAS sample reading comprehension questions as a topic sentence for paragraphs. Use the exact same words as the 4th grade reading open response MCAS exam question but make it a telling sentence instead of a question.

Step4
Look back in the reading comprehension passages. When it comes to MCAS preparation it’s best to read and reread reading comprehension tests, since they are checking your reading, not your memory!  Double check if you need to underline more sentences that answer the open response MCAS practice tests questions.

Step5
Write a detail that you underlined in reading comprehension passages for the MCAS exam. Then write a response to the MCAS 4th grade reading comprehension questions that you felt or figured out about that detail. Repeat this step on MCAS practice tests until you have a long paragraph that answers the 4th grade reading open response MCAS question.

Step6
Reread the question and your paragraph to be sure it answers the open response reading comprehension tests MCAS question.

Step7
Write a closing that sums up your answer to the open response MCAS sample question. This means to write the question again as a statement.

Step8
Read over your completed response to make sure it explains your thinking clearly, and you're finished!  Good luck with your MCAS preparation!

How to Deal with all that Homework (For Parents)

Is your child overwhelmed with homework? If so, I bet you are too! I teach fourth grade, and some parents have let me know that homework is a daily torment. Here are some tips on what to do when you feel like homework is a chore that is getting out of control.

Do assigned written homework that is due tomorrow first.
To prepare to do homework, take out all the materials you'll need. Read the assignment sheet or notebook to see what subjects your child has homework in. Help your child take out books, notes, worksheets, paper, pencils, and erasers.

Time how long you work on one assignment.
In elementary schools, many teachers assign around an hour of homework. This varies by grade level. Ask your child's teacher about how long she expects homework to take for the average child in her class.

Divide and Conquer.
Divide the amount of time your child should be spending on homework by the number of assignments he or she has.
For example, assuming homework is supposed to take 40 to 45 minutes:

a. If there is homework in 1 subject, spend 20 minutes working. Take a 5-10 minute break. Then spend another 20 minutes working.
b. If there is homework in 2 subjects, spend 20 minutes working. Take a 5-10 minute break. Then spend 20 minutes working on the other subject.
c. If there is homework in 3 subjects, spend 15 minutes working. Take a 5-10 minute break. Then spend 15 minutes working on the second subject. Take another 5-10 minute break. Spend 15 minutes working on the third subject.

Work.
During the 20 minute work period, encourage your child to stay sitting and focus on reading directions and writing responses. No TV or side conversations are allowed during this time.

Take a Break.
After 20 minutes of sustained work, let your child relax however he or she prefers or move around during breaks. This is the time to get a tissue, water, snack, or chit chat.

Make Note.
Write a note on homework if it takes much longer than the expected amount of time. Your child's teacher might not realize how long homework takes for your child.

Study After Doing Written Homework.
After the 40 to 45 minutes of written homework, see if there are tests to help your child study for. Use the notes and books to help.

Read After Studying.
If there is not test coming up to study for, most schools expect children to read for 10 to 20 minutes every day after homework is finished. Ask your child's teacher what the expectations are for his or her grade level.

Review Corrected Work.
After reading, look over old assignments with an adult. Write questions together for your child's teacher to help with.

Catch up on Class Work.
If your child is missing work due to absence, ask if it can be made up over the weekend.

Celebrate Accomplishments!
If you stick to this new routine and it works, plan a special treat as a reward.
Good luck!

Final Thoughts:
Your child's teacher may have her own guidelines about how many minutes to spend on homework, time spent reading and studying, and whether homework can be made up on weekends. Ask your child's teacher what her expectations are.

How to Get Better Grades on Your School Coursework

I was always a good student and got good grades on school homework. I went on to work in tutoring programs and now I'm a teacher. Here are things I did to get good grades on school homework, and advise my students to do as well.

Attend classes regularly.
Most tutoring programs agree that attendance is important so you don't miss anything. Listen, take notes and ask your teachers questions if you don't understand something so you know what to do on your school homework.
  
Understand the directions on your school homework
Provided you follow those 3 prerequisite steps, you should have the information you need to do your school homework. To help you get the best grade on assignments, read the directions. A trick many tutoring programs teach is to identify how many questions are within the assignment, and be sure to answer every part of every question.

Know the big picture.
Tutoring programs ask participants for their course syllabus or course description. This is because it gives clues about key words and concepts the teacher is trying to convey, so refer to that. If you use those concepts in your school homework assignment, your teacher will feel you understand what's most important.
If this is a smaller school homework assignment, reread the notes or pages that the teacher referred to before assigning it. Sometimes the answers are right in the chapter. Other times, you need to think about WHY or HOW something happened, so draw on your own experiences. In math, the procedure for solving problems are laid out sequentially, so tutoring programs look for which steps you need help with and isolate them.

Budget your time.
If you have a lengthy school homework project, decide about how long you will need to spend on it, and divide that up into "work sessions." Tutoring programs teach you that each session should be in an environment where you can focus and have all your materials.

Begin a "work session."
Tutoring programs recommend that for students in sixth grade and older, a work session should be about an hour. If you have a shorter or longer attention span, you might want shorter, more frequent work sessions or longer, less frequent school homework sessions.

Don't do anything other than school homework during that session. Since your work session is only an hour long you can make a snack after. Then, if you want another hour work session, have snack as a break in between. The reason is if you budget an hour of work but spend 15 minutes making a snack, you didn't spend a realistic amount of time on work. This would make budgeting your time more difficult in the future.

Put your completed work in your bag right away.
You just worked hard, so you don't want to get to class tomorrow and realize you left your school homework on your counter. Get in the habit of packing the night before, so all you have to remember to grab in the morning is your bag. If you'd like more school advice, I've included resource links on this page. Good luck!