Test Preparation and Test-taking

Online Exams

Blackboard Test Information

• To understand how tests are structured using Blackboard, go to Tools then click on User Manual. Select Part 2: Courses and Organizations. To access test information, select Chapter 4: Content, then Assessments.

• After reading this information and if you have questions, be sure to immediately contact your instructor. When you take the test, you do not want to be worried about how to answer the questions.

Test Preparation Strategies

• Know exactly what will be covered and what kinds of questions will be asked. Practice tests, if provided, will be your best source of information.

• Begin your study-review preparation far in advance of the test.

• Take all comprehension checks, progress tests, and practice tests. For each question missed, find the relevant information in your text and read to locate the correct answer. Make a note in the margin using a different color of ink to call attention to this information. You need to correct your thinking, and this will require extra attention.

• Work with a tutor to help clarify "muddy" concepts.

• Organize your review so you have time to study everything. This includes text chapters, study guide exercises and progress checks, online lectures, online readings, summary outlines, lists of terms, sample problems, charts and graphs, practice exams.

• Mark your textbook and online reading printouts to identify key information so it can be easily found. Your online tests are open book, but since most exams are timed you must organize your materials ahead of time.

• Reserve time before taking the exam for a last, once-through review.

• Take a break before starting the exam so you are rested and thinking clearly.

• Make sure your environment is distraction, interruption free. Alert others that you need the designated amount of time to complete your test.

Multiple Choice Tests

• Budget your time if the test has a cutoff point. Keep a clock nearby so you know how much time remains as you work through the questions.

• Preview the entire test to get an idea of where the trouble spots are located and where you feel confident of the answers.

• Answer the questions that you know. Write down the numbers of questions you skip so you can easily go back and answer them later.

• Watch for absolute or categorical statements in true-false questions. They are usually false.

• Remember that generalizations are usually only partially true.

• Read the "stem" of multiple choice questions and try to answer them for yourself before you look at the choices. Then pick the answer closest to yours.

• Read all the possible answers in multiple choice questions even if you think the first or second choice is correct.

• Eliminate alternatives in multiple choice and matching questions so you narrow your choice and increase the probability of a correct answer.

• Guess at an answer (unless there is a guess penalty) rather than leave a blank—you might be right! If you have time, go back at the end and give it further thought. Use scratch paper to mark the numbers of the questions you were not sure of so you know exactly which ones to review.

• Change an answer if you can think of a concrete reason that makes your first answer wrong.

Short Answer and Essay Tests

• To ensure you don't lose your answers if there is a problem with the Blackboard connection, write your responses in a word processor so they can easily be retrieved. Then cut and paste your answers into the appropriate test boxes.

• Focus on how each question is worded, noting the key words that indicate exactly what you are to write about. To better your understanding of common question words, check out this link: Simplified Plans of Action for Common Types of Question Words.

• If more there is more than one question, select the one you feel the most confident about to respond to first. As you write, the connections you make about the topic will remind you of information that relates to additional questions.

• Budget your time well, especially if there are several questions.

• Keep study notes and outlines within easy access. The more you organize your materials, the easier they may be utilized.

• Notes, textbooks, and other study materials are for occasional reference only. Knowledge of the topics covered in the test is paramount as you will have little time to seek out needed information.

• Plan time at the end of the test session to reread your responses and to complete a spell check. Make corrections or clarifications as needed.