Test Prep Day Before & Day Of Strategies

Go get ’em on test day.   You have practiced, practiced, practiced with the goal of 40 hours or 1,000 questions under your belt.  You are ready!  Now take a moment to breathe and review our best practices before and during test day.

Before Test Day

1. Don’t study the day/night before – rest the day before the big game

2. Be physically active so you can get a good night sleep the day before the test – no medication to sleep

3. Eat well to give your body energy – avoid excess sugar, caffeine, be well-nourished

Test Day:

1. Doors open at 7:45am for all testing centers. You will not be admitted after 8am so plan on being early!

2. If possible, get 10-15 minutes of exercise before the test – to clear your brain and calm your nerves

3. Read and do a few simple math problems while eating breakfast to “stretch” mentally

4. For the Reading Test, start with your strength (Lit, SS, or Sci) and ANNOTATE

5. Give yourself a 30-45 second mental break after the 3rd or 4th reading passage to reset and refocus

6. Don’t talk about the tests during your breaks – enjoy your 10-minute breaks if you can

7. For all tests, mark those questions where you are uncertain of the answer; if you have time, you can then go back and review

8. Breathe!!

Calculator:

1. Use a calculator with which you are familiar working – muscle memory helps

2. Charge your calculator to 100% or put fresh batteries in the night before or bring batteries with you

3. The calculator should have an entry line so you can see entered data

4. Ti-83;84 and 89 or Casio Fx 300 ms work well

Other Items:

1. Check your test center on your admission ticket – make sure you are going to the right place

2. Photo id – (If using a school ID, it must be from the current school year.)

3. Two pencils

4. A watch

5. Drink and snack