5 Of the Best Test Taking Strategies For Elementary Students

Did you know there’s an art to taking a test? Today, I’m sharing the best test-taking strategies I could find! These strategies could be used for any grade and any subject. They should be taught to students well in advance of taking a test so that they can practice these skills by doing practice tests. 

Let’s dive into the best test-taking strategies for elementary students!

1. Know the format of the test. Students should know what type of test they will be taking before they even see it. Will it be multiple choice? Short answers? Essay questions? A combination of these formats?

2. Time management. Teach students how to calculate the allotted time. For younger students, this could mean calculating how much time they have for each section of the test or quiz. For older students, teach them how to break this down even further by calculating the allotted time for each question. You may want to start this process by telling students when they should be starting the next section of the assessment. 
3. The Glance Dance. Teach students how to glance over a test. This means skimming all of the questions before answering them. Glancing helps because students may be able to spot answers to questions hidden in other questions. It also familiarizes them with the format and vocabulary of the content-this may jog their memory!
4. Answer the easy questions first!
5. For those more difficult multiple-choice questions- 
   1. Cover the answers!
   2. Read the question carefully. 
   3. Anticipate the answer before you see the options listed. 
   4. Circle or highlight any keywords (this will need to be taught to students).
   5. See if your answer is there. If it is not, are there any similar answers?
   6. Process of elimination. Which answer makes the most sense? 

How to teach students these best test-taking strategies?

Here are some ideas of how to teach these strategies to students:

1. The question of the day. Give students one or two examples of a multiple-choice test question. Teach them the process of answering multiple-choice questions and have them practice on the daily questions you list on the board
2. Quiz scavenger hunt. Make a daily “quiz” with approximately 5 questions. Purposely place one or some answers within the other questions and let students try to spot them while they complete the practice quiz. 

3. Time management-Practice divides time when giving students activities that have a certain amount of questions. For example, “okay students, we have 20 minutes to do this activity, and there are 5 questions. How much time do we have for each question?”

Final Thoughts

Do you have other ways to get students prepared for a big test? Comment down below!

Check out these related blog posts:

• 3 Review Games for Test Season That Your Students Will Love!
• What Are the Study Habits I Should Be Teaching My Elementary Students?
• Motivation for Students Before Exams-Ways to Develop Motivation in Your Classroom

Ps Don’t forget to grab the free guide Soft Skills for elementary ELA Teachers! Click here to get it now!