You’ve failed a practice test, and you’d really like to put this experience behind you so you don’t get sucked into a spiral of negative thoughts. While that would probably make you feel better now, it won’t help you in the long-term and will likely add to your stress over time. Take the mystery out of your scores by facing your practice tests head on and use them as a tool to shape your test prep moving forward.
View this as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Anytime you take a practice test or quiz is an opportunity to learn more about how you take tests and gather valuable data to determine your needs moving forward. Incorrect responses and failing scores don’t mean you’re a failure, it means you have more information to make strategic decisions.
Review the questions/rationales and ask yourself, “What was the barrier, why did I get this question wrong?” Typically, incorrect responses can be reduced to 3 main issues.
1. Content Mastery
If the information is not familiar to you, then this is a content mastery issue and you’ll need to do more studying. Start with reviewing the rationale, then go back to the study materials to further your understanding of the topic or that content area. Try to avoid studying directly from the test as you will not likely see this question again and you don’t want to memorize questions. This AATBS Blog Post on How to Master EPPP Material offers additional tips and tricks for developing a solid understanding of the content.
2. Test Taking Strategy
You might find that after the reviewing the question and rationale, you can answer the question just fine or knew the answer all along. In this case, you’ll want to determine whether you misread the question or missed a keyword, changed your answers last minute, chose answers that looked appealing but was partially incorrect, etc. Once you determine what the issue is, you can make an intentional plan to address this moving forward and practice your strategy with each quiz or test you take, ultimately building that test taking muscle.
3. Anxiety Management
Maybe you knew the answer, but that stats question threw you off your game, your heart rate increased, and you couldn’t think clearly. Perhaps, you’re starting to notice that when the question is a paragraph long, anxiety sets in, and the overwhelming wall of words start swimming in your brain so you just picked an answer to get away from that question ASAP and move forward with your cognitive resources and dignity in tow. Getting in tune with your reaction to questions will help you come up with a strategy for addressing it proactively. Whether you have to engage in deep breathing, cognitive reframing, or some other strategy, you have the tools and now you know when to you use them. If test taking anxiety becomes too much, you may also want to consider seeking therapy to help you on your journey.
Consider Coaching
If you’re struggling with identifying any of the above or identified them but can’t quite determine next steps, reach out to an EPPP Coach. You might have coaching included in your study package or may need to seek out coaching, but having that objective support can help you get back on track. Not sure if coaching is for you? Check out this AATBS Blog Post to get a better understanding of how coaching can benefit you.