:: Diploma Exams and Achievement Tests
Preparing for an exam:
- Get a schedule from your teacher of the tests you will write. As a test approaches, relax and think positively.
- Don't cram! Cramming will increase your test anxiety. Through study spaced over a relaxed period of days or weeks, you will absorb and learn the material. Be sure to have a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home.
- Get enough sleep.
- Healthy bodies make healthy minds. Eat well and exercise.
- Regulate your TV watching - grades drop as TV watching increases.
Exam writing strategies:
- Read the test directions carefully and ask questions if needed.
- Skim over all of the exam questions first so that you can budget your time appropriately.
- Students often waste time on questions they can't answer, particularly in multiple choice tests. Answer the easy questions first and then try to figure out the hard ones.
- If time is running out, put down as much information in point form as possible in the time remaining - often you will earn partial credit on the question.
- If you didn't do as well on an exam as you thought you would, sit down with your teacher and gain and understanding of where you fell short of what was expected. Your teacher can also suggest alternative exam writing strategies.
- Review the exam with your parents and discuss all comments written by the teacher.
For more information, e-mail Kathy McCabe, Supervisor, Student Assessment.
This information represents our best advice on this topic. Other authorities, such as Alberta Education, may provide additional information.
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