Hello, my Socratica Friends!
We’re here to help you be a GREAT student.
Today we’re going to talk about a special kind of test - the sort of test that looms
large in your future and acts like a gatekeeper or a turning point in your life.
I’m talking about...STANDARDIZED TESTS.
We all have to take them: SAT, ACT, AP, GRE...MCAT...LSAT!
It really never stops until you’re like...25?
30?
It depends on how much school you’re going to do, and when you go.
We’re all about lifelong learning here at Socratica.
One of our friends went to Med school when he was like 40, so...never say never.
Yeah, he’s a doctor now.
Here at Socratica, amongst our small team, we’ve taken literally DOZENS of standardized
tests.
And honestly, we did pretty well.
We’ve noticed that after taking all these tests, you figure out some things are true
about almost all of them.
So we’re going to share our best advice with you.
Here are the Socratica Team’s secrets to Standardized Test Success.
SPOILER: The big picture is to focus on studying what you DON'T know.
How do you do that?
With pre-testing.
How do you do THAT?
Well, you take practice questions tailored for you.
FIRST, NO CRAMMING.
You’ve heard us say this before.
Get out your calendar and write down the date of the test.
How long do you have before the test.
Please say at least one month.
Two months is better.
You’re going to allow yourself a chunk of time each day to devote to studying for this
test.
And the more time you have, that means the smaller those chunks can be.
Ideally, we’re aiming for 15-20 minutes.
That’s it.
Of course, if you’ve waited until like two weeks before the test, you’re going to have
to stop almost everything else and focus on this one test.
That’s just not a great plan.
Please.
Take our advice and start early.
Now.
HOW do you study for a standardized test?
To begin, you have to know something about what the test is like.
Do a little reconnaissance.
Find out: How long is the test.
How many questions are there.
What style are these questions?
Is it all Multiple Choice, or are there some sections with short answer, or even essays?
Because you’re going to have to practice all of these differently.
Did you notice I said the P word?
PRACTICE.
This is really the key to your success on standardized tests.
The dirty little secret is, honestly, the questions really aren’t that hard.
At least, they’re not the hardest material in the subject.
Instead they will be perfectly reasonable, representative questions that test your understanding
of the subject.
There won’t be any “gotcha” questions.
You’ll see that when you start taking practice tests.
Get your hands on a good practice test.
A lot of times you can get a genuine test from previous years from ETS or the College
Board - or you can buy a big book of practice tests from a test prep company.
Watch to the end for a special gift for our Socratica Friends from Magoosh Online Test
Prep!
Set aside an afternoon when you have no distractions, and take this practice test with PLENTY of
time.
If the test normally takes 90 minutes, give yourself 2 hours.
Don’t stress.
Make a note of how long you took, and later, LATER, you will work on speeding up.
Take this practice test using the TWO PASS technique.
That is, you’re going to make two passes through the whole test.
First, you’ll answer any questions where you immediately know the answer, and skip
the ones you don’t.
On your SECOND PASS through the test, slow down and answer the remaining questions.
Go ahead and answer every question - because we want an accurate picture of what you KNOW,
and what you DON’T know.
Score your test.
Don’t be afraid, this is just for you.
We’re just figuring out where you are now.
Look at all the questions you missed.
Were there any where you genuinely didn’t know the answer?
Like, on the SAT, I missed “Fracas” because I just didn’t recognize the word, and I
couldn’t seem to break it down into its roots.
I mean, you know, that’s okay.
I still remember that I missed that word, that’s all.
Now I know it for sure, right?
My point is, the vast majority of the test is stuff you know.
There MAY be a few gaps in your knowledge, but you have plenty of time to review that
specific kind of math problem or beef up your vocabulary.
So what makes standardized tests hard, if it’s not the material?
It’s more the timing.
You have to be able to answer questions quickly and not get distracted.
You need to work on your focus muscles.
AND you need to be able to answer a question to the best of your ability and move on.
Don’t waste time arguing with yourself about “maybe?...this answer could POSSIBLY be
right?...”.
Don’t do that.
Overthinking on standardized tests is a big problem for some people.
The more you practice, the better you’ll be at letting these internal doubts go.
What if you genuinely don’t know the answer?
Should you guess during the real test?
You need to understand how your test is scored.
Is there a guessing penalty?
Like, back when I took the SAT, there WAS a guessing penalty, and you’d get dinged
a quarter of a point for every question you miss.
So it wasn’t a good idea to guess if you had no idea and you couldn’t eliminate any
of the answers.
But now, on the SAT and the ACT, no guessing penalty!
So don’t you DARE leave a single question blank.
Now that you’ve taken a practice test, it’s time to start studying to boost your score.
You may have a handful of topics you need to review.
Again, it’s best if you study in small chunks every day.
Try different approaches to the material - this will strengthen your recall, because you’ll
have multiple layers of information.
Read it, watch a video, and talk about it with a friend.
Schedule two or three more full-length practice tests for yourself before the real test.
Now, each time you take a practice test, you should be able to go a little faster than
the previous time.
Track your progress and watch your improvement!
This will help keep you motivated.
Give yourself a little reward each time you finish reviewing a topic.
This last piece of advice is really about staying healthy and happy in the long term.
Please don’t wreck yourself over this one test.
Get enough sleep, and don’t neglect your friends and family.
You CAN take the test again.
If you really screw up, you can take it again.
I know, they cost a TON of money, so...you’re going to have to save up for that.
Most tests also offer needs-based scholarships to help out.
Are there specific study tools we recommend for standardized tests?
Well.
You know we’re big fans of flashcards, and spaced repetition.
If you don’t know about the best way to use flashcards, we have an excellent video
for you to watch.
That’s a fantastic technique to use when you’re memorizing facts and vocabulary terms.
FRACAS!!! {shaking fist}
There are also options for studying online.
We partnered with Magoosh for this video, and they let us test out their system.
You can study on your desktop, your laptop, they have phone apps...So this is a good example
of how you can make this work in your life.
Magoosh has kind of blended approach between studying on your own, and having access to
tutors who are subject experts.
I know it can be hard to find quality tutors who are flexible.
You’re not always going to be able to meet with a tutor in person, especially when you’re
busy with school, and a job or other extracurricular activities.
Sometimes you’re only free at like 9 at night on Thursday or 6AM on Sunday.
So, being able to log on when YOU’RE ready to study can be very helpful.
I was able to take a diagnostic test and have Magoosh create a schedule for me to study.
Okay, I confess, I’m not actually going to study to be a lawyer, but I was just kind
of curious what the LSAT was like, because I heard there were lots of logic puzzles,
and I LOVE logic puzzles, so...yeah, I’m weird, I know.
I don’t care.
We all love learning, here, right?
That’s why you’re watching SOCRATICA.
So.
I’m not going to apologize for taking LSAT questions for fun.
You can share in the fun, too.
Magoosh has set up a special page for Socratica Friends.
They’re giving you a discount - it’s already super-affordable compared to other services,
but this makes it even easier for all of us to use this resource.
There are also a lot of completely free goodies they’ve set up for you on our Socratica
Friends page - some games and puzzles and things like that.
Check out the links in the description below.
Are you studying for a specific standardized test?
If you found this video helpful, and you’d like us to make a follow-up video about a
specific test, let us know in the comments.
We can do that.
Socratica Friends, We know it’s really hard to accept that it seems like your whole future
depends on how well you do on a standardized test.
Just remember that it’s not the whole picture of who you are.
Schools ARE going to look at your test scores, yes, but you’re also going to have a lot
more going for you - grades, recommendations, your essays.
Think of it as building a portfolio.
This is ONE element.
And it’s an important part of being a GREAT student.
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Join the Socratica Team on Patreon!