There are a few things in life that are universally anxiety-inducing. Test-taking is one of them. No matter the subject matter, the grade, or the age at which someone may be taking a test, nerves are typically going to be present. Where some people may be calm and confident on the inside and others near shaking, where there is a test involved there is usually some important grade attached to the results.
For this reason, test taking maintains its ability to affect people.
Schooling and the modern economies have changed so much in the last decade or so that many of the ways in which people used to participate in test taking have also changed with it. Technology has improved, put a spin-on, complicated, or enhanced humans abilities to connect and with that has come the rise of online education.
No longer are people forced into classrooms at odd hours, or having to listen to someone drone on and on about a subject matter that is dry to say the least. Online education has opened up a whole new collection of ways in which people of any age can participate in educational forums.
Remote lectures, online file folders to access resources and documents, lesson plans, and tests can all be accessed with a computer and an internet connection. The ease, affordability, and normalcy of this new form of educational training has paved the way for schools, organizations, and companies to be able to utilize online platforms as a way to teach and train whoever has the need.
So whether preparing for midterms or deciding if trying to earn a doctorate online is the best way to go, being aware of online educational mediums is a good idea. As such, here are a few resources and strategies that can be used to become a better online test taker.
Resources for Success in Test Taking
The age-old adage of “practice makes perfect” applies to many situations, test taking is one of them. Studying is a sure fire way to become better prepared for taking a test, though familiarizing oneself with the material that has been covered is a logical way to presume preparing for an exam, sadly, sometimes the material covered is not necessarily what ends up being on the test. In that case, just plain ‘ol studying may not always be the best way to prepare.
Luckily, depending on the subject matter— and the mountain of information available online— there are people out there who have shared tips as to how to prepare for specific tests. As a result, one of the more common test prep features, “practice tests”, has also been made available online. There are plenty of popular, effective practice test websites like Khan Academy and Quizlet, that offer a slew of practice tests in hundreds of different subject matters. Depending on the nature of the test and the seriousness of the necessity for certification— as in the situation of needing to pass the LSAT to become a lawyer, or the NCLEX to become an RN.
There are also accredited organizations that can provide test prep materials for some of the more serious, professional standardized tests.
Online Test Learning Platforms
Most people may know and remember someone from high school who was studious and perhaps a bit of an overachiever who, when it came time to take the ACT or SAT, actually went out of there way (on top of hours of schooling and homework) to spend their free time visiting a test prep center. These schools specialize in teaching tips, tricks, and summarizing materials that would be very likely to be on some of these standardized tests. The services, which are arguably helpful, are not just found in stores, but in online platforms now.
So, regardless of what test someone may be studying for, there is likely a person or service that has gone ahead and is willing to share their knowledge of how best to prepare for and take a test successfully.
Strategies for Online Test Taking
Read the Instructions!
This may be one of the first suggestions that people are taught in elementary school, but the advice is around for a reason: it works. There is important information that can be found (or overlooked) when taking a test and reading the instructions may be the only thing keeping someone from acing a section versus narrowly passing. Sounds simple and somewhat trite, but it never hurts to revisit the basics. Time Management
While not every test is going to be time sensitive, many are. Learning how to be aware of and manage the time allotted accordingly can help when making the decision to work through a complex problem or to just guess and move on. While that is not ideal, neither is running out of time on a section having missed a quarter of the questions. Another benefit of this strategy is that, if there is enough time left over, time can be spent double checking answers.