The content on this page is adapted from the book, Keys to Academic Success: Strategies for unlocking your educational potential so you can spend less time studying and more time learning. To purchase a digital copy of the complete book, click here.
We all know that standardized tests are a big part of the path to becoming an occupational therapist in the United States. Whether you are taking a standardized test to get into an undergraduate program or graduate program, or you are taking your licensure exam at the conclusion of your academic studies, you will at some point find yourself preparing for a standardized test unlike the tests you are used to taking in school or college. Not only is the body of knowledge on which you will be tested significantly larger than a typical exam, but the test itself often lasts much longer. But standardized tests don’t have to be overwhelming. Here are a few strategies that can hopefully help you succeed at whatever standardized test you find yourself facing.
Use the official study guide
Most of us don’t have the money to buy all the test study guides available, and even if we did, no one has the time to read them all. So how do you choose which guide to get? A good rule of thumb is to purchase the official study guide prepared by the test writers. In many cases, it will honestly be the only guide you truly need. The organization that wrote the test is the most reliable resource for telling you what to expect on that test. So if you are going to trust someone to tell you what to study and help you to best prepare, why not trust the ones who know that test better than anyone else.
Develop a study plan
In order to know that you have studied all of the material you can anticipate seeing on a standardized exam, it is important to develop a study plan. Most test developers will tell you what type of material to expect on a given exam and roughly what percentage of the exam will be devoted to each topic. You can use this information as you develop your study plan.
First, write down each of the topic areas you expect to see on the exam and their percentages. Then fill in the space under each topic area heading with more specific details as to what information you expect to be tested on. For example, one fourth of my licensure exam focused on evaluation and assessment, so under that topic area heading I would want to list all details I might expect to see in questions related to evaluation and assessment within my profession including self-care assessments, mobility assessments, cognitive assessments, etc. This is a great time to work with classmates or professors to be sure that your list is complete.
After you have developed your list, score each topic based on how well you know the material. Is this something you’d consider yourself an expert on, or something you struggle with. Then begin your study by focusing on the subjects you struggle with the most in order to understand them better and bring your competence up in all areas. After all, you don’t know what topics will actually be featured on your exam, so you don’t want to focus all of your energy on a few topics that you already know fairly well and end up with a test that asks all about the topics you struggle most with.
Know when to take the test
Perhaps one of the hardest parts about studying for a standardized test that you schedule yourself is knowing when to take the exam. If you take the exam before you are ready, you may end up with an insufficient score and be forced to take the test over, costing you both money and time. But if you wait too long to schedule the exam, you will be unnecessarily putting the rest of your life on hold and perhaps even delaying work. So how do you know when to take the test?
If you have been studying a while but you just don’t know yet whether you are ready (and if you are passing practice exams with a margin and you feel like you’ve studied all the main topics on the test) ask the advice of someone you trust and who knows you well. It could be a parent, a teacher, or a professor (just not someone also studying for the same exam). This person can look in from the outside and honestly tell you that, yes, they think you are ready, or no, you need more time. Their vote of confidence may be the only push you need to schedule your exam and move forward into the next phase of your life.
Use test taking strategies
We discussed some general test taking strategies on this page, but depending on the format of your particular standardized test, these strategies may or may not help in your situation. Before you begin practicing with any strategies, make sure you understand and are familiar with the format of your specific test so you can determine which strategies will be applicable to you.
In general, when taking a standardized test, it is a good idea to take a break from studying on the day before the test so that your brain isn’t fatigued on test day. It’s also important to make sure you eat before the test and take snacks with you in case you get hungry. Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the testing location so that you aren’t stressed about arriving on time and be sure to read over any guidelines for your specific testing facility to make sure you have everything you need when you arrive.
During the test, be aware of the time, but don’t distract yourself by constantly checking your progress. If you are required to schedule your own breaks, keep in mind that checking in and out can be time consuming, so group restroom breaks with snack breaks to be more efficient. You can also talk to someone who has recently taken your specific test and ask what strategies worked well for them, but don’t overwhelm yourself trying suggestions that don’s seem like a good fit for you. And regardless of your plans and how well they do or don’t work out, remember that life happens and sometimes you simply must make the best of a less-than-ideal testing situation. So long as you know the material and remain calm, you can usually overcome even the craziest of starts to a standardized test.