Test Taking/Test Anxiety

The following test-taking tips and strategies for dealing with test anxiety can be helpful to students in the MD Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

Preparation

Ask yourself these questions:

• What do I need to know?
• What do I already know?
• What don't I know and how should I learn it?

Taking charge of test taking begins long before the actual test. Improve your success by being prepared. To do well on tests you must first learn the material, and then review it before the test. Plan ahead and know when your exams are scheduled.

1. Look at the course syllabus for objectives and dates.
2. Keep handouts; they show what the instructor thinks is important.
3. Ask to see copies of old tests.
4. Consult students who have taken the course.
5. In lectures, listen for phrases such as "Three major types," "The most important result is," "You should remember" or gestures like pointing, underlining or check marks that would indicate important points
6. Read all instructions before beginning an exam.
7. Don't waste time on questions you're unsure of. Skip them and come back to them after you've finished. Later questions may jog your memory.

Remember - you want to spend 80 percent of your time studying what you're not confident about and 20 percent doing overall reviews.

Prepare like you are in the exam. Take a sample test, the one you created throughout the semester by writing down a question or two each time you studied. Time yourself. For example, if the actual test is 100 questions in two hours, then allow two minutes per question.

Don't just memorize facts. Material makes more sense if you are able to understand how it all fits together.

Do not attempt to "cram" the morning of an exam. The material you study will only go into your short-term memory and could confuse what you have already learned. Also, do not discuss possible questions as you walk into the exam. If someone mentions something unfamiliar and out of context, you may panic and think you didn't study enough. This will just make you anxious about the exam.

Objective Questions

True/false - Take note of cautionary words. "Always," "must" and "never" imply absolute conditions and if exceptions exist, the answer must be false. "Generally," "often" and "usually" are moderating qualifiers that imply that exceptions are possible, therefore these statements tend to be true.

Multiple choice - Answer the question in your head first. Eliminate incorrect answers. If two answers are almost identical or have similar-sounding words, select one of them. Look for opposite choices, one is probably correct. Discount extreme answers and know unfamiliar terms tend to be distractors.

Test Anxiety

Test anxiety consists of mental components and physical components of stress linked to test taking. Anxiety is an indicator of the importance we attach to an event and our concern that we may not succeed.

Suggestions to try:

• Try to relax. Roll your shoulders or close your eyes for a few seconds.
• Breathe slowly. Breathe slowly through your nose, filling your lungs, then slowly exhale through your mouth to calm physical sensations in your body.
• Be positive. Say to yourself, "I studied enough, so I know I'll be OK."

The best recipe for alleviating feelings of panic is to be prepared. If you've reviewed the material often enough, you can have butterflies in your stomach and still feel confident that you'll pull through.