Question:
I have two teenage girls both diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and starting high school. Test taking for them has always been difficult. Are there some time honored test taking tips that have been given to teenagers over your years of experience that struggle with focus issues?
Answer:
For young people who struggle with focus issues and who also have test taking anxiety this can be a pretty difficult process to navigate. Most often some schools provide their students with test taking tips for different kinds of tests, including multiple choice and fill in the blank. Most importantly parents, we want you to review the following that could conceivably make a difference in your teen's test taking strategies.
1. The first thing we tell most families at the beginning of the year is to try and establish a routine for your teens with regards to preparation for the test. Preparation is the key. If there is a schedule and routine, mentally this prepares them for the task ahead.
2. As a general rule, teach study and organizational skills if you can. If you are unable to do that, it's smart in some cases particularly if you have two children that have attention deficit issues to find a homework coach that will help with the prep time.
3. Encourage your teen to space out study and homework assignments so they won't be forced to cram the night before. Cramming is very ineffective, causes stress and can interfere with getting a good night's sleep and thus will impact on the test taking strategies.
4. Keep a positive attitude. Try not to let your anxiety dictate your coaching in homework.
5. Create the best environment for studying. Most teens prefer a quiet, well lit area. Some with extreme focus issues prefer the hum of a radio. Be cognizant of both styles.
When sitting before the test itself, start with;
6. Arrive early.
7. Listen to and read directions carefully. Read directions and questions twice. Sometimes the directions are more complicated than they appear. Make sure no last minute changes have been announced. Many questions are missed because of a lack of attention to directions.
8. Take a minute to budget your time. Spend more time on questions that are worth more points. Do not spend time on any one question before you have gone all the way through the test.
9. Do a quick "mind dump". If there is information that you remember initially that you don't want to forget, write it down on scrap paper or in the margin. This will help you retrieve it during the course of the test. Immediately when the test is received, your teen should write down two or three key facts that he's concerned he might forget.
10. Answer the easy questions first.
11. Look for clue words such as name, outline, define, explain, describe, discuss or compare.
12. Think long and hard about changing your answers, often your first instinct is correct, only change them if you know you are wrong.
13. If there is not a penalty, always guess.
14. Mark up your test. Place a star next to questions you aren't sure of and an X on the choices you know are not correct on multiple choice tests.
15. Mark out answers that use absolute words; never, always, only, none, all. On True/False questions, these are usually false.
16. Always look for clues in the questions.
17. Root words are also found in the answer.
18. Resist the urge to hand in your test once the last item is completed. If time allows, start at the beginning and check each item to make sure you have answered each question.
Finally, keep an eye on the clock. Make sure you have time to complete all the sections. Hopefully some of these strategies will make a difference for teens in terms of developing a good plan. I think most importantly, one has to review after initial test taking week which strategies have been the most effective and apply them for the next grading period. Hopefully these tips will help.
Teen Talk is a Biweekly segment airing on ABC 27 News at Sunrise.
