 Taking Objective Tests
General Tips:
• Plan your time. It is good to allow more time for high point value questions; reserve time at the end to review your work, and for emergencies.
• Check with your instructor whether or not you can write on the test.
• Before starting the test, turn it over and jot down all the facts and details you are trying to keep current in memory. Review the whole test over, skimming the questions and developing a general plan for your work. Jot down any immediate thoughts, which come to you, in the margin.
• Read the directions very carefully. Take into account time limits, specific answering procedures (i.e., answer 3 out of the 4 questions below), how questions will be graded.
• Start with the section of the test that will yield the most points, but begin working with the easiest questions to gain time for the more difficult ones and to warm up.
• Work quickly, check your timing regularly and adjust your speed when necessary. It is advised not to stick on one question at the cost of losing time for another one.
• Avoid reading into the questions. When the question seems to you too easy, there must be a trick. Mark the question and move on to another. When you start modifying the question, the answer you will come up with will be different from the one on the teacher's key. You can interpret questions literally.
• Choose the answer the testmaker intended—stay within the scope of the course. When you know facts that are beyond the level of sophistication of the test, 1) record the intended answer, and 2) point out the possible ambiguity and make a case for a different answer either in the margin of the test or during the next regular class.
• Mark key words in every question. Ask yourself WHAT, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW to find the key words.
Multiple Choice Questions:
The multiple choice questions are the most commonly used objective question. They consist of two parts:
1) The stem - the statement or question
2) The choices - also known as the distractors
Tips:
• There are usually 3 to 5 options that will complete the stem statement or question. You are to choose the correct choice, the option that completes the thought expressed in the stem. If there are 5 choices listed, there is a 20% chance that you will guess the correct choice. Though multiple choice questions are most often used to test your memory of details, facts, and relationships, they are also used to test your comprehension and your ability to solve problems. Reasoning ability is a very important skill for doing well on multiple choice tests.
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