TEST SKILLS – Test Taking Strategies (Remembering for a Test)

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     Having a good memory can make a difference between doing well on tests and…the alternative.  Unfortunately, students who don’t have such a great memory (or at least choose not to have a good memory) are at a disadvantage.  Test taking strategies also require memory strategies.

     There are some tricks students can use to help remember information for tests.

1.    Pictures - Most young people (especially boys, who are predominantly visual learners) remember best by picturing information in their heads.  Students can use pictures, sketches, or drawings to help them remember information.  For example, when trying to remember the parts of a volcano, new Spanish or French words, or history, students can draw pictures of what they are trying to remember.  This will help students at test time to recall and retrieve information since they can ‘picture’ the concepts as opposed to just remembering them.

2.    Music - What child, pre-teen, or teen doesn’t like some form of music?  Simple songs, poems, nursery rhymes, and even pop music can help students remember information.  This is a great strategy, especially for auditory learners.  Students can take the information that they are learning and substitute it for the lyrics of a song.  Not only will this help students remember, but it will also motivate them to learn.

3.    Teaching - Teaching others is one of the best ways to remember anything!  Any teacher can tell you that when you teach someone something, you have to know what you are talking about!  Students can teach family members, classmates, or even talk on video or voice recording.

4.    Acronyms - Acronyms are words made up of the first letters of a title or a group of words.  In grade 4 science, students are taught the acronym ROY G. BIV.  This fictional name stands for the colors of the rainbow:

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

Students can create their own acronyms.  This will make learning more enjoyable and test taking easier.

     Students should try to find their personal learning styles (e.g. visual, kinesthetic, and auditory) or learning preferences and use the above skills accordingly.

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