For the past decade, there has been a furious push for accountability in education. This has resulted in an increased use of exit exams for students prior to their graduation.  Although such tests aren’t specifically required by federal law, more than half of the states in the United States have designed a test that each student must pass before he or she receives a high school diploma.

Like it or not, if your state is one of these states, then you or your child will have to take an exit exam like the AHSGE CAHSEE FCAT GEE GHSGT GQE or OGT.  It’s helpful, therefore, to have a glimpse of what you’ll need to know.  While we don’t have the room to discuss in depth each exit exam, we will consider seven exit exams.  These seven provide a good cross-section of most of the other tests.  The seven states we’ll examine are California, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio. An examination of the content on these seven should help you prepare for an exit exam in the other 20-plus states, as well. (more…)

So you’re trying to get into a Catholic high school. . . you’re at the testing center, taking the COOP (Cooperative Entrance Examination).  Suddenly you come to a section with several questions that you just don’t know. What to do?

Guess.  That’s right….take a guess.  One of the good things about the COOP is that you are not penalized for wrong answers (unlike other standardized tests which take off more points if you guess and miss than they would if you just left it blank).

But don’t just take a random guess.  Instead, make an educated guess.  The COOP is all multiple choice, so there are things you can do to improve your odds of making a right guess.  Here are some tips. (more…)

In California, students who dropped out of high school before receiving their diploma can go back in a later year to take the California High School Proficiency Examination.  If the person passes the CHSPE, he receives a diploma that, by law, is to be considered the same as a regular diploma.  Sound familiar?  It’s an absolute fact that this is similar in concept to the better-known General Education Diploma (or GED).  However, the two are not synonymous. It’s important that you know how the two exams are similar–and how they differ.  (more…)

Put down your class notes and textbook for just five minutes and take this short quiz.  It might actually help with the rest of your study time.

1)       Do you have a difficult time motivating yourself to start studying for a big test? ______

2)       Do you expect that, no matter how hard you study, that you will do poorly on the test? ______

3)       Do you find yourself easily distracted during your study time? _____

4)       When you take a test, do you have difficulty understanding directions and the questions? _____

5)       Do you feel physical discomfort such as upset stomach, a headache, breathing difficulties or tension as you take a test? _______

6)       During the test, do you frequently space out and draw a blank? _______

7)       Do you find it hard to organize your thoughts during the test? _______

8)       Does your mind wander to other things as you’re testing?

9)       Immediately after you finish a test, do you remember an answer that you couldn’t recall during the test? _______

10)   Do you find that your test scores are usually lower than those on papers and other assignments? ______ (more…)

Have you been floating through life?  If so, here’s a warning for you:  Students can’t float through their classes and do well.  You must be organized and disciplined.  In short, you must have a plan.  The “study plan” has different meanings to different people.  At the college level, a study plan is a formal, highly-structured way to not only do well in your individual classes, but to get from your first freshman course to graduation.  For others, a study plan is some notes scratched in a notebook about how to survive this week’s tests and papers due.  What we’re going to present here is a strong study plan that will work for most typical students in high school, college, or external study situations.  It’s an intricate plan that should be committed to writing, and that starts broad and then gets very specific.  Our plan has 5 key steps to it.  Once you’ve completed this plan, you should live your life by it, consulting it daily to know what you need to do today to stay on track to achieve your academic goals.

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It is easy to feel the pressure of the clock.  If you’re not careful—and prepared—it will get to you and drag down your score.  Let’s discuss how to beat the clock when taking the SAT. Here are five simple steps to help you maximize your score while minimizing your stress.

1. Set your pace: Before you start filling in the multiple-choice answers, look at how many questions you have. Calculate how much time you have for each question, and scan through the questions so you have a general idea of what you’re up against.
2. Make it easy: As you start going through the questions, don’t let yourself get hung up. Instead, according to the College Board, successful test-takers complete the less-difficult questions first. Focus on answers that come quickly; then, depending on how much time is left, go back through and tackle the ones that caused you to stumble. Sometimes, if you come back to a question after you’ve completed others, it can give you a fresh perspective. (more…)

For many students, it’s the most dreaded part of a standardized test:  the reading comprehension part.  After all, you can study the basic facts of math or of history.  But how do you study the art of reading better?

When facing the reading comprehension section of a standardized test, you must develop an informed strategy in order to be successful. Youwant to keep several steps in mind: (more…)

More college students are turning to shared-information websites to assist them with studying for exams, according to an article published in OKLAHOMA DAILY

A shared-information academic site is one which gives students information about college professors and their courses.  They are controversial because some educators worry that the information that students share might sometimes cross over the boundary into cheating.

These information-share sites provide information on a college’s professors and courses, along with details of what the professor normally expects the student to know from the material.  Students are encouraged to upload their own class notes, and even quizzes and exams.  They also buy and sell textbooks. (more…)

Studying for a test with flash cards a simple way to boost your score and minimize stress.  Flashcards are easy, portable, and proven to help remember large amounts of information using active recall.  Three basic rules will ensure flashcard success.  First, limit study periods to 20 minutes or less.  The human brain simply cannot concentrate effectively for longer than 20 minutes.  Spread your studying throughout the day.  (more…)

Listen, we would be the last ones to tell you not to take your high school tests seriously.  They do play an important part in determining your grade point average, and that in turn affects your ability to get into the college you want.  However, if you mess up on the occasional test, don’t start hating on yourself!  The fact is, there are some myths associated with high school tests that, for the sake of your self esteem, you should not buy into.  Here are a few of them. (more…)