Many students do not think much about how to budget their time on a test and just jump right in.  However, in order to do their best on tests, they must learn how to think about how much time they have and how to budget that time when testing.

Ways Students Can Wisely Use Their Test-Taking Time

1. On a multiple choice-type test, teach them to answer the easy questions (the ones they know) first, the difficult ones next, and then quickly guess the rest (as long as it won’t count against them).

2. Have them count the number of multiple choice questions and calculate how much time they have for each question.  When there are essay questions too, have students set aside time for the essay(s) and then calculate their time per question for the rest of the test.

3. In general, students should answer multiple choice questions first and then focus on essay and other questions.  There are often clues to other questions in the multiple choice parts of a test.

4. Tell students to cross out obviously incorrect responses to minimize the distractions such responses offer.  This will save them even more time.

For a video training program on memorization and test taking strategies with a concentration on RTI & DI that is  perfect for Professional Learning Communities, Long-term embedding professional development, full or half day inservice as well as individualized learning  check out Memorization and Test Taking Strategies: Training DVD Set