The Art of Bubbling In Answers
Every challenge tests more than expected at first glance. The path to fame as a performer, for example, demands talent, but also hustle, charisma, and connections. Success in sports also stems not just from physical conditioning and mastery of a dedicated skill set but also a slew of professional and psychological qualities that separate champions from the rest. Standardized exams are no exception to this rule. Of course you need to master the content and strategies that lead to maximum points on every section of a given test. Of course you also need to learn the structure of the exam inside-out so you can perfect your time management plan and test day routine. Of course you even need to give serious thought to what kind of snacks, clothes, watch, calculator, and even pencils you might bring to a given exam. But do you really need to pay attention to little…
Multiple Choice: First Instinct or Second Guess?
When we discuss ways to score your best on tests like the SAT and ACT, we often address content areas like reading, writing, and vocabulary. But we also know that much of the challenge of a test lies in its fiendish structure. When tacking standardized tests, you’ve got to maximize precious resources like time, energy, and anxiety over the span of many hours. But if you really want to prep right, you should take a little time to understand the classic question format: multiple choice. Multiple choice questions may seem simple and efficient on the surface, but all those tempting half-right choices can induce high levels of skepticism and doubt. Every tester at one time or another has grappled with that eternal, existential dilemma: should I stick with my first choice or should I change it? Unsurprisingly, researchers have explored this very issue and come up with a confident answer:…
Advanced Answer Elimination Strategies
Into every life, a little testing must fall. And where you find tests, you will eventually encounter multiple-choice questions. This common question type may seem more daunting than free responses or true-or-false questions, but how can you not love a test question that includes its own answer? In addition, multiple-choice questions become much easier when you combine proper technique with a commitment to eliminating answer choices strategically. Why is answer choice elimination so effective? Crafting really good multiple-choice questions is something an art, but test writers usually follow a predictable pattern. With four or more responses, you can usually count on a correct answer (you hope), one or two similar choices, and at least one outlier. If you cannot predict the correct answer outright, clear the field by eliminating the choices you know are definitely wrong. IDENTIFYING INCORRECT CHOICES Identifying the incorrect choices can be as challenging as find the…
Multiple-Choice Tips for Everyone
When I majored in Psychology in college, I told friends that my motivation was a deep curiosity about the mysteries of human behavior and cognition. But, if I’m being honest, I also liked how most of our grades were based on multiple-choice tests! Multiple-choice tests are, in many cases, easier than alternative question types and quicker than essays. They are also a cinch to score. No wonder the lives of students and aspiring professionals are filled with multiple-choice challenges. From the perspective of a test-taker, the chief beauty of a multiple-choice question lies in the correct answer embedded within the choices. Everyone gets a chance to select the credited response. You can dramatically improve your odds, however, by applying some powerful strategies for the manifold multiple choice questions you’ll encounter in life: KNOW THE COST OF FAILURE Start by understanding the scoring scheme of the test you are taking.…