How to Prepare for Math Tests

Exams are a part of academic life. They help both students and teachers understand how well students understand the material that they are covering. While exams definitely are a direct reflection of the effort on the part of students it is also a reflection of the work that teachers have put in. Students often overlook this fact. As a teacher myself, if I notice that my entire class is struggling with something, it usually means that my lessons were not received well. It tells me that I need to revisit the material with my students in a different way. They say that it takes a teacher 5 years to learn the material that they teach and a career to learn how to teach it and that is very accurate, at least in my case. I highly encourage teachers to create a frequency distribution of their student’s success of all major tests. This will help you spot areas that need to improve your lessons on. It can also help you reshape your pacing for the school year.

Unlike other subjects, math tests are a completely different animal. In most cases, I recommend prepare for tests by knowing the answer to every question a teacher could ask based on the material in class. Math is more of an application-based process. I recommend that students always outline a study plan for any major exam. This would consist of naming the main topic and all the different types of sub-topics that fall off of that. Once you have an idea of all of the problems that can be thrown at you, the next step is practice. You can usually do this with the materials that your teacher have provided, but you can always go online and take practice mock tests. I find it helpful to start by watching a math video on the subject and then practicing on your own. Many of students have had success with this strategy. I would encourage you to set time limits for studying as well. You can only be productive for so long. I would say an hour per day is a good starting point. If you have more energy, push it a little longer.

The ultimate way to prepare for a math test once you feel confident with the material is to make your own test. When you do this is addition to partnering with other students, it can be a truly revolutionary technique that can help elevate your grades to the sky. I used this technique in college. I had three other study pals. We would study individually and then three days prior to the exam we would get together. Prior to that time, we would all write our own test for the material. We would also write a complete answer key for it. We would then take one exam each of the next successive days. By the time the actual in class test rolled around, we already had completed three other tests and reviewed them. Once I began using this strategy, exams ceased to create the level of anxiety that I was used to from them.

Other Considerations for Students

Now that we know what we need to do on our own time to prepare for tests lets talk about the other factors that can come into play. Make sure that you are maintaining your health. Get eight hours of restful sleep the night before and have a good breakfast. Once you receive the test, read all the directions before you do anything at all. If you run into a problem that trips you up, skip it and come back to it later. Just make sure that you note that question. I like to draw a star next to problematic questions. Once you hand in your test, do not sweat it, if you prepared well. All people have slightly different techniques for preparing for exams. Find out what works for you and what doesn't.