A
female
age
30-35,
*oodbyehello93
writes:This is such a boring question.. but... It seems that whenever I study really hard for a test, I never get the scores I want. Am I just a really bad test taker? Or am I not studying hard enough? How would I be a better test taker and have better studying skills? Reply to this Question
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male
reader, Fatherly Advice +, writes (7 October 2010):
 These are all great answers. I would like to add a suggestion for high school students who are younger than you. Join your high schools Academic Decathlon team. Among other life skills and esoteric knowledge, they will teach you how to take tests. I never had the opportunity in my small high school, but it completely turned my oldest daughters school experience around. Her test scores really improved and it saved her senior year (she started as a junior). You don't have to have great grades to get on the team, in fact they look for kids with lower GPA's to balance the team as your scoring is adjusted to your GPA.
When I was in college I got the best advice about tests I ever had. The night before a test go to an early movie, then get plenty of sleep. Going into a test relaxed will improve your scores. If you don't know the material well enough to do that, one night of cramming won't help.
FA
A
female
reader, forgettingyou  +, writes (7 October 2010):
 everyones different in the way they study - me for example, i never seem to study, and i always get full marks. but my friend, he needs to study for hours to get anywhere near the marks he wants.
but like cerberus_raphael says, try a different technique, and see what suits you - also test yourself before the actually exam to see what you've remembered and what you perhaps need to go over:-)..
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male
reader, slimfish  +, writes (7 October 2010):
 this is something you need to talk to your teachers about.
they will admire you for trying to better your grades and help you.
thats what they are for.
you have taken the first step by comming here for advice, that too courage.
small steps is the way to go, there is no easy answer, just plain hard work.
good luck.
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (7 October 2010): Writing things down in your own words really helps and also doing as many practice exams as you can lay your hands on. But some people are just bad at exams - like me! I did really badly on exams at uni in undergrad, like failing them sometimes, but now I'm doing a PhD so no more exams, yay! And all the professors I know now still go pale when you mention sitting exams to them. I think it's just that some people have brains that work well under exam conditions and others work better in real life or in their jobs. As long as you do ok enough to get through, you'll shine in the future :)
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (7 October 2010): While you still have to put in the work in terms of studying, you may want to pick up some Ginkgo Biloba extract as a supplement - it helps with your memory and overall brain function.
A bunch of Chinese guys in my classes back in high school used to drink that stuff, which comes in little plastic/glass vials, just before tests/exams and almost always did extremely well. I've tried it, and used it all through university, and seem to do better as well.
You can read about Ginkgo on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba
Also, a tip when it comes to studying: Try to create 'codes' for blocks of info and/or lists. For example, if you were studying about the Great Lakes and read stuff on each lake, but kept getting them confused and couldn't remember them all as a result, just remember HOMES - each letter corresponds to the first letter of each lake's name (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).
By the time you're done studying, you'll have a bunch of codes - and in turn, you should review/memorize each code so you can easily draw upon them during tests.
One thing that worked for me, was as soon as the exam/test started, I would jot down as many of the codes down on the back of the test (so I wouldn't forget them later on). THEN proceed to take the test. When a question came up I didn't know right off the bat, I'd look at the list of codes and see if I could correlate any part of the question to what the codes represented.
Worked for me, hopefully for you as well. Best of luck!
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male
reader, Cerberus_Raphael  +, writes (7 October 2010):
 You could try to set a study schedule. Study for at LEAST 2 hours a day for two weeks prior to the test/exam. Perhaps it is not the study itself. Perhaps it is the technique you apply to studying. Reading out of a book is not nearly enough, depending of course on the type of learner you are (i.e. visual, auditory or kinesthetic) so, get creative and find ways in which you can revise.
Do not be too hard on yourself. Tests themselves are flawed at best, they only take into account, visual learners and are inconsiderate of those who just do not learn that way because of the simple fact that their brains are just different. I always found this ironic seeing as how the examiners are supposed to be the experienced ones (No offence intended to any examiners). I am starting to ramble...What I am trying to suggest is, find a new way to revise, one that you enjoy, one that suits your learning style.
I hope that helps.
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reader, anonymous, writes (7 October 2010): Well maybe you should first review your study habits. I mean studying over a period of time is recommend and not cramming all into one evening. Reviewing the text before class, noted after class and the book again after class. A major thing to help you prepare is this, do you know the material well enough to tutor someone else in it? As in try tutoring someone else in this
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reader, Cools_Breeze +, writes (7 October 2010):
I always found that the key to studying well is to have fantastic notes. The better the notes the easier it is for you read and memorize the information. And it's not just the notes you take in class but the notes that you produce afterwards from your class notes and your readings.
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