CST Test-Taking Strategies

Here are a few tips for taking tests.  Some strategies are really basic, and some may seem counter-intuitive, and some may not always be best for every student, but knowing these strategies can help students take tests more effectively.

• Get a good night's rest before a testing day.
• On the day of testing keep your routines (eating a healthy breakfast etc.) in place.
• Have several number 2 pencils sharpened and ready.
• Review previous assessments and know why you missed the questions that you missed. 
• Practice your math facts.
• Make sure that you are not late to school! 
• Ask your teacher for help with procedural questions.
• If you don't understand the directions for bubbling, using scratch paper, or the directions about how to take the test, ask for help. 
• Be confident that you have already learned most of the material that will be on the test.
• Read the questions carefully.  Read all of the possible answers carefully.  Mentally answer the question before marking the answer. 
• Don't change your answer unless you have a really good reason.  Your first choice is most often correct. 
• Make the most intelligent answer possible.
• Answer the easiest questions first.
• Prove it before you choose it.
• Don't spend too much time on any one question, pace yourself!
• Go back to answer any questions that you skipped. 
• Carefully match up the questions and the answers on the bubble sheet. 
• Eliminate obviously wrong answers.
• Think about the BEST answer choice.
• Look for key words or phrases in the questions and answers.
• Understand what the question is asking and then answer that question.
• When there is a reading passage, read the questions first.
• All grades can use scratch paper on the math test.
• Transfer the question correctly from the scratch paper!
• Line up place value correctly and neatly to avoid computation errors.
• If your answer does not match one of the choices, re-read the question and solve the problem again. 
• The tests are untimed, so take all the time you need!
• When you have extra time, check the problems that you were unsure of. 
• If you finish early, check to see if you have answered all of the questions. 
• When you finish, please stay quiet so others are not distracted!