• Home
    • Contact
    • Search our Site!
  • Canadian Tests

    Canadian Forces

    CFAT — TAFC

    Citizenship & ESL

    Canadian Citizenship
    CELPIP  —  CAEL

    Dental

    Canadian DAT

    Provincial Achievement and High School

    Cognitive Abilities Test (CCAT)

    Canadian GED

    Alberta Provincial Achievement

    BC Provincial Achievement

     

    Trades

    Trades Entrance

    Canadian Public Service

    PSC Tests

    Canada Post (GAT)

    Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA OTEE)

    Canadian Firefighter

    Law Enforcement & Security

    BC Police (JIBC)  — Ontario Police (OACP)  — RCMP

    Canada Corrections —  GATB

    Security Guard

  • Public Service Entrance Exams
    • Air Traffic
    • CRA Tests
    • Food Inspection
    • Korn Ferry
    • PSEE (371)
  • Occupations

    Trades

    EIAT — IBEW — Ironworkers
    Red Seal Welder
    Red Seal Carpenter
    Red Seal Plumber

    Medical and Nursing

    PSB HOAE — NLN PAX — More Nursing

    More

    Criticall 911 Dispatch — Mechanical Aptitude — Watson Glaser — Wonderlic Basic Skills

    Firefighters

    CPS Research & Standard & Assoc. (NFST) — Wonderlic Firefighter — Firefighter Practice
  • High School

    Test Help!

    Practice Test Questions – How to Prepare for a test – How to Answer Multiple Choice – How to Study – How to Study — What Students Say

    High School Exams

    CAAT — CHSPE — Canadian GED — Nelson Denny  — TABE — TACHS
    CHSPE Math — GED Math

    Gifted and Talented

    NNAT   —   SCAT   —   NYC Gifted

    The complete guide to multiple choice!

    Discover 15 secret strategies that will raise your score on any multiple choice exam regardless of the subject.

    Learn More >>>

  • Practice
    • Algebra
    • Anatomy & Physiology
    • Basic Math
    • Geometry
    • College Level
      • Congruence
      • Geometric Transformations
      • Graphs of Polynomials
      • Inverse Functions
      • Linear Equations with 2 Variables
      • Logarithms
      • Number Sequence
      • Prime Factors
      • Trigonometry
    • English Grammar
      • Punctuation
      • Spelling
    • Listening Comprehension
    • Logic & IQ
    • Mechanical Comprehension
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • Basic Statistics
    • Situational Judgement Practice Test – Similar to Government of Canada
    • Vocabulary
  • Test Prep
    • How to Answer Multiple Choice
    • How to Prepare for a Test
    • How to Study – The Complete Guide
    • How to Study Math
    • How to Study Science
    • How to Take Notes
    • Test Anxiety Tips!
    • Flash Cards
Complete Test Preparation Inc.
  • Home
    • Contact
    • Search our Site!
  • Canadian Tests

    Canadian Forces

    CFAT — TAFC

    Citizenship & ESL

    Canadian Citizenship
    CELPIP  —  CAEL

    Dental

    Canadian DAT

    Provincial Achievement and High School

    Cognitive Abilities Test (CCAT)

    Canadian GED

    Alberta Provincial Achievement

    BC Provincial Achievement

     

    Trades

    Trades Entrance

    Canadian Public Service

    PSC Tests

    Canada Post (GAT)

    Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA OTEE)

    Canadian Firefighter

    Law Enforcement & Security

    BC Police (JIBC)  — Ontario Police (OACP)  — RCMP

    Canada Corrections —  GATB

    Security Guard

  • Public Service Entrance Exams
    • Air Traffic
    • CRA Tests
    • Food Inspection
    • Korn Ferry
    • PSEE (371)
  • Occupations

    Trades

    EIAT — IBEW — Ironworkers
    Red Seal Welder
    Red Seal Carpenter
    Red Seal Plumber

    Medical and Nursing

    PSB HOAE — NLN PAX — More Nursing

    More

    Criticall 911 Dispatch — Mechanical Aptitude — Watson Glaser — Wonderlic Basic Skills

    Firefighters

    CPS Research & Standard & Assoc. (NFST) — Wonderlic Firefighter — Firefighter Practice
  • High School

    Test Help!

    Practice Test Questions – How to Prepare for a test – How to Answer Multiple Choice – How to Study – How to Study — What Students Say

    High School Exams

    CAAT — CHSPE — Canadian GED — Nelson Denny  — TABE — TACHS
    CHSPE Math — GED Math

    Gifted and Talented

    NNAT   —   SCAT   —   NYC Gifted

    The complete guide to multiple choice!

    Discover 15 secret strategies that will raise your score on any multiple choice exam regardless of the subject.

    Learn More >>>

  • Practice
    • Algebra
    • Anatomy & Physiology
    • Basic Math
    • Geometry
    • College Level
      • Congruence
      • Geometric Transformations
      • Graphs of Polynomials
      • Inverse Functions
      • Linear Equations with 2 Variables
      • Logarithms
      • Number Sequence
      • Prime Factors
      • Trigonometry
    • English Grammar
      • Punctuation
      • Spelling
    • Listening Comprehension
    • Logic & IQ
    • Mechanical Comprehension
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • Basic Statistics
    • Situational Judgement Practice Test – Similar to Government of Canada
    • Vocabulary
  • Test Prep
    • How to Answer Multiple Choice
    • How to Prepare for a Test
    • How to Study – The Complete Guide
    • How to Study Math
    • How to Study Science
    • How to Take Notes
    • Test Anxiety Tips!
    • Flash Cards

Blog

  • Home
  • Blog
  • In the Test Room – The Complete Guide

In the Test Room – The Complete Guide

  • Posted by Brian Stocker MA
  • Date October 2, 2007
  • Comments 2 comments

Get In The Mood

Keep a check on your emotional status. If your emotions are shaky before a test it will effect your preparation. A shaky emotional state can determine how well you do on the test. Use these six ways to give yourself a boost into a good mood for taking a test.

Audio Version of this Post

https://www.test-preparation.ca/Podcast/In-Test-Room.mp3

Starting The Exam

  • Makes sure you are in the right exam. Very important! There may be other testing session for the same class and classes with similar names. Look for others from your section and double check the section number.
  • Remember that every instructor has different requirements and will expect different things. Read instructions for each exam so that you are sure to provide accurate answers.

Go with the flow – Don’t Fight It

There are lots of reasons to dread tests. Tests classify students and create categories of people. Tests can be unfair by rating students higher that can memorize and rating students that analyze lower. Conformity is an asset on tests, but creativity is often a liability.

Everyone knows this and it probably isn’t fair but that’s the way it is, so the first step is to accept it and get used to it.

You will get higher marks when you realize tests count and give them your best effort. Get into showing off your intelligence. If you can’t get into showing off, think about your future and the career that comes from straight A’s. Avoid the negatives and focus on anything that lift your enthusiasm and increase your motivation.

Keep Breathing

For most people, when we are anxious, tense, or scared, we either stop breathing or breathe very shallow. Focus on your breathing – breathe deeply and regularly. When you continue to breathe deeply you will notice you exhale all the tension. More on Handling Test Anxiety.

With continued practice of the relaxation technique, you will immediately start to know the muscles that tense up under pressure. Call these your “signal muscles.” These are the ones that will yell at you saying “hey lighten up you’re getting tense.” Take the time to relax.  Breathing Exercises to Reduce Anxiety.

After practicing a few times, you will get into the habit of checking yourself regularly and when you find you are tense, relax.

Get there early enough to relax

If your are wound up, tense, scared, anxious, or feeling rushed, it will cost you. Get to the exam room early and relax before you go in. This way, when the exam starts, you are comfortable and relaxed. Just make sure you don’t get to the exam room too early that will just give you too much time to sit there and get wound up all over again.

Start with practicing in your room, then practice in the library, and last in the exam room. If you can, go to the exam room a few days ahead of time. When you are used to the technique, use it any time you feel tense during the exam.

Get comfortable in your chair

Make every muscle in your body tense and keep it that way. Start with your head then work down your body. Notice the feel of every muscle as you go down your body. Scowl to tense your forehead, pull in your chin to tense your neck. Squeeze your shoulders down to tense your back. Pull in your stomach to your ribs, make your lower back tight then stretch your fingers. Make your leg muscles and calves knot then stretch your feet and your toes. You should be as stiff as a board throughout your entire body.

Now relax your muscles in reverse starting with your toes. Notice how all the muscles feel as you relax them. Make sure to keep all the muscles relaxed as proceed up your body. Focus on how you are feeling as all the tension leaves. Start breathing deeply when you get to your chest muscles.

  • Don’t sit near any windows so what goes on outside doesn’t distract you.
  • Sit away from the aisle so you aren’t distracted by people that leave early. People that leave the exam room early are usually the ones who fail. Don’t compare your time to theirs.
  • Don’t sit near any attractive friends or classmates. This will be a distraction – you can chat with them all you like after the exam.
  • Sit in a well lit area of the room.
  • Ask the instructor to close the door if there is a lot of noise outside. After all, it’s the instructor’s job to create the perfect test conditions. If the instructor does not want to close the door, block out the noise as best you can. Don’t let anything disturb you.
  • Make you have enough pencils, pens and whatever else you will need. Bring candy bars also in case you get hungry. It can be a big distraction if you are hungry.
  • Make sure you’re warm by bringing a jacket or sweater. Don’t get distracted by being cold. Dress in layers so that you are prepared for a range of temperature.
  • Have a watch to bring with you so you always know what time it is. Don’t look up at the clock as something may distract you. If you don’t own a watch, buy one or borrow one. You don’t want students with watches having the advantage over you by knowing what time it is.

You may feel as though you need to take pep pills or tranquilizers. That may be fine, however realize there are pros and cons. Some students need help from pills, however it is unlikely they won’t help you pass an exam.

If you didn’t get enough sleep, pep pills will work to keep you awake but they will not help you to focus and concentrate. What pep pills will do is make it harder for you to think straight when solving complicated problems on the exam.

If you are the type that gets extremely anxious, tranquilizers can help you relax. They have not proven effective with young students. On the down side, tranquilizers not only make you less alert, they can also decrease your motivation. Being motivated is what you need to get you through an exam.

If you have never taken pep pills or tranquilizers, right before an exam is not the time to start. You need to know how they will effect you before you use them during an exam. Think about it first and weight the pros and cons.

Ending

Always leave time at the end of the exam to check your answers. You may find you have made mistakes or left out information. By correcting this you will earn more points. Continue this process until you have used all available time. Do not leave early, once you have left the exam you will not be able to correct any of your mistakes. Use your time well and you will be faced with less regrets after the test.

See Also – The Ultimate Guide to Test Preparation and Mental Preparation for a Test

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
author avatar
Brian Stocker MA

Previous post

How to take Computer Based and Computer Adaptive Exams
October 2, 2007

Next post

How to Answer Multiple Choice Questions
October 26, 2007

You may also like

photo
Neuro-Psychology and Studying
17 December, 2019
Test Anxiety Quiz
16 December, 2019

Test Anxiety is one of the leading causes of low marks on a test.  Take our Test Anxiety Quiz for customized results and test anxiety solutions   Begin the Quiz!   Written by, Brian Stocker MA., Complete Test Preparation Inc. …

IMG_0926 (1)
Test Prep Plan of Attack – Ready for Battle
6 December, 2019

    2 Comments

  1. Madge
    July 21, 2011
    Reply

    I’m impressed! Cool post!

    • Fidelia
      July 31, 2011
      Reply

      Thanks for sharing this

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Test Prep

How to Take a Test - the Ultimate Guide

Test Prep - What Students Say

Test Prep Video Series

How to Study for
a Math Test


How to Study Science

Learning Styles

Test Anxiety Secrets!

How to Hire a Test Prep Tutor

Using Flash Cards

How to Cram


Take a Test


In the Test Room
The Complete Guide


Computer Adaptive Tests

How to Memorize

All About Cheating

Analyze your Practice Tests


Time Management on a Test

Types of Questions


Multiple Choice

Reading Comprehension

Oral Exams

Essay Questions

True False

Fill in the Blank

How to Write an Essay

Study Techniques

Memory Palace

Mindfulness

Clustering

Connect

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

If you are a volunteer or non-profit organization, we are happy to provide test prep materials at reduced or no cost.  Please contact us with details of your organization.

About
Contact Us
FAQ
Online Practice Courses

Thank you!

With every purchase, you’re helping people all over the world improve themselves and their education. So thank you in advance for supporting this mission with us! Together, we are truly making a difference in the lives of those often forgotten by the system.
Charities that we support

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Visit our Test Prep Learning Center

Learning Center
Copyright -- Privacy -- Returns -- Sitemap