test taking skills

[integrationbyrecognition]

I've always been bad at taking tests and exams, will I have the same problem in uni?

[userrrname]

Hey I've been seeing some of your posts on the forum and I would just like to say: CHILL. I feel like this stressed out year 12 you talking. You'll be fine in life do not let the performance of a few tests define who you are (I'm such a hypocrite for saying this). There's like 50000 people in this state who are going through year 12 and I can assure you the majority of us feel like crap coming out of exams. Atarnotes generally has high achieving members and I feel like seeing people who complain about losing like one mark may affect those who lose like fifty marks (e.g me in methods). Year 12 is nearly over and its reaaally stressful being in that examination hall, we can all empathise with you. But next year, hopefully, you'll be studying something you genuinely want to study, and thus it wont feel like a competition anymore. Just do your last exams as best you can, because you're just stressing yourself out. Nearly there!!

[integrationbyrecognition]

Hey I've been seeing some of your posts on the forum and I would just like to say: CHILL. I feel like this stressed out year 12 you talking. You'll be fine in life do not let the performance of a few tests define who you are (I'm such a hypocrite for saying this). There's like 50000 people in this state who are going through year 12 and I can assure you the majority of us feel like crap coming out of exams. Atarnotes generally has high achieving members and I feel like seeing people who complain about losing like one mark may affect those who lose like fifty marks (e.g me in methods). Year 12 is nearly over and its reaaally stressful being in that examination hall, we can all empathise with you. But next year, hopefully, you'll be studying something you genuinely want to study, and thus it wont feel like a competition anymore. Just do your last exams as best you can, because you're just stressing yourself out. Nearly there!!

Thanks bro, although i'm genuinely asking whether my bad test taking skills will be a problem in uni aswell? I wouldn't say i'm dumb, I just suck at tests, due to the format of the test (questions in the test being nothing like my notes and practice exams), and i'm bad at applying information to new situations in tests, i'd much rather a rote learned test. I'm being genuinely seriously, I don't want my bad test taking skills to affect me anymore
Thanks

[Bri MT]

There's a whole range of different assignments in uni & this'll often relate to what course you're doing. 

My biggest ones this semester are:
- short answer exam (chem)
- multi choice exam on laptops (enviro bio)
- short answer/ extended response exam (maths)
- presentation on a project I've been working on (impact through science)
I also know people who:
- don't have exams for their units
- are writing an essay in the exam and basically already know the prompt
- have a take-home exam

Your assessment really depends on the units you choose,  and you can check if there is an exam and how much it contributes to your grade before selecting a unit.

It's also very possible that you'd be  good at exams if you're in a different environment that didn't stress you out so much

[integrationbyrecognition]

There's a whole range of different assignments in uni & this'll often relate to what course you're doing. 

My biggest ones this semester are:
- short answer exam (chem)
- multi choice exam on laptops (enviro bio)
- short answer/ extended response exam (maths)
- presentation on a project I've been working on (impact through science)
I also know people who:
- don't have exams for their units
- are writing an essay in the exam and basically already know the prompt
- have a take-home exam

Your assessment really depends on the units you choose,  and you can check if there is an exam and how much it contributes to your grade before selecting a unit.

It's also very possible that you'd be  good at exams if you're in a different environment that didn't stress you out so much

Are uni exams harder than school exams?

[sweetiepi]

Are uni exams harder than school exams?

Difficulty is relative to each person, so I cannot accurately comment on difficulty.
Most uni exams I have sat through have been pretty straightforward, however tend to be more "here's a scenario, use your knowledge to come up with a solution", than "question about x concept, give me the answer".

[integrationbyrecognition]

Difficulty is relative to each person, so I cannot accurately comment on difficulty.
Most uni exams I have sat through have been pretty straightforward, however tend to be more "here's a scenario, use your knowledge to come up with a solution", than "question about x concept, give me the answer".

Which is why I hate exams lol, wish they were just like straightforward textbook questions

[userrrname]

Thanks bro, although i'm genuinely asking whether my bad test taking skills will be a problem in uni aswell? I wouldn't say i'm dumb, I just suck at tests, due to the format of the test (questions in the test being nothing like my notes and practice exams), and i'm bad at applying information to new situations in tests, i'd much rather a rote learned test. I'm being genuinely seriously, I don't want my bad test taking skills to affect me anymore
Thanks

I used to live overseas for a while (was born here though) and literally every exam would be straightforward from the book. The exact question from the book would be on the exam. Do I remember any of it? Nope. I "learnt" only to answer a question on the exam. I feel like in Australia they really make you think, and getting the answer right to a question here is so much more rewarding. I would say, you're not "bad" but perhaps unaccustomed to the way of answering the questions. For me personally, the questions I find difficult are usually the ones I overthink the answer too. You're trying to connect too much topics to one simple question. If you can answer the question in an exam they will give you the mark. They don't care how many practice exams you've done or how many hours you've spent studying. Which is why sometimes we see people who don't really "study" that much get some pretty solid study scores. Also, a rote learned test is basically testing your memory and not your knowledge...

[integrationbyrecognition]

I used to live overseas for a while (was born here though) and literally every exam would be straightforward from the book. The exact question from the book would be on the exam. Do I remember any of it? Nope. I "learnt" only to answer a question on the exam. I feel like in Australia they really make you think, and getting the answer right to a question here is so much more rewarding. I would say, you're not "bad" but perhaps unaccustomed to the way of answering the questions. For me personally, the questions I find difficult are usually the ones I overthink the answer too. You're trying to connect too much topics to one simple question. If you can answer the question in an exam they will give you the mark. They don't care how many practice exams you've done or how many hours you've spent studying. Which is why sometimes we see people who don't really "study" that much get some pretty solid study scores. Also, a rote learned test is basically testing your memory and not your knowledge...

Haha I was in for a shock when I did the past exams and the real exam was so different and alot harder compared to the practice exams, but yeah, I agree that the education system in Australia strays away from rote learning and focuses more on application of knowledge

[userrrname]

Haha I was in for a shock when I did the past exams and the real exam was so different and alot harder compared to the practice exams, but yeah, I agree that the education system in Australia strays away from rote learning and focuses more on application of knowledge

Sitting under timed conditions in the actual examination hall also makes the exam seem more difficult than it is. I think that's why a lot of us are like "oh exam from year x was sooooo much easier". Maybe if you had gotten the same practice exam you thought was easy doing it at home, in that exam hall, you would've found it difficult. Look, if you have a firm grasp of the topic then you will be able to answer most questions on an exam. Just because you go through the book and answer some questions, doesn't mean you're guaranteed success in an exam. I know people who barely did practice exams or really heavy content revision and ended up acing the exams because they had a sound grasp on the topics. Application questions are also more flexible because there isn't a set right answer you have to have known at the back of your head. You just gotta connect the dots and come up with an answer... maybe I'm oversimplifying things but that's essentially it.

[Bri MT]

This is an encouragement to stay closely on the topic of "test taking skills in uni"  since we seem to be sliding away from that.

Really don't want this to become another "previous exam difficulty compared to this year" thread.

[integrationbyrecognition]

Sitting under timed conditions in the actual examination hall also makes the exam seem more difficult than it is. I think that's why a lot of us are like "oh exam from year x was sooooo much easier". Maybe if you had gotten the same practice exam you thought was easy doing it at home, in that exam hall, you would've found it difficult. Look, if you have a firm grasp of the topic then you will be able to answer most questions on an exam. Just because you go through the book and answer some questions, doesn't mean you're guaranteed success in an exam. I know people who barely did practice exams or really heavy content revision and ended up acing the exams because they had a sound grasp on the topics. Application questions are also more flexible because there isn't a set right answer you have to have known at the back of your head. You just gotta connect the dots and come up with an answer... maybe I'm oversimplifying things but that's essentially it.

Normally it would be the pressure of the exam that makes it seem harder, but this time it was genuinely harder, and I respectfully disagree with the idea that if you have a strong grasp of the topic,, you can do any question on the exam. I had a strong grasp on all the concepts in the previous exams, but still got slaughtered on questions such as the "odd and even" area and the value of k for one solution or whatever. And for some reason, I didn't even realize there was a page at the very end, gg 2 marks

This is an encouragement to stay closely on the topic of "test taking skills in uni"  since we seem to be sliding away from that.

Really don't want this to become another "previous exam difficulty compared to this year" thread.

Isn't talking about exam difficulty related to test taking skills though?

mod edit: merged posts

[userrrname]

Normally it would be the pressure of the exam that makes it seem harder, but this time it was genuinely harder, and I respectfully disagree with the idea that if you have a strong grasp of the topic,, you can do any question on the exam. I had a strong grasp on all the concepts in the previous exams, but still got slaughtered on questions such as the "odd and even" area and the value of k for one solution or whatever. And for some reason, I didn't even realize there was a page at the very end, gg 2 marks

Idk then, I think you’re just mad that the exam didn’t suit your strengths and that’s okay. Doesn’t necessarily make you a bad test taker. And you not realising there’s a page at the end is not the exam’s fault... I just think you’re pissed that you didn’t do as well as you were preparing for. And guess what?? This happens EVERY YEAR to a lot of people. My best friend got an atar of 70-ish last year. Not bad but not amazing. They’re now at uni, in a course they enjoy and are top of the class with a perfect GPA. They were even offered an exlcusive exchange student program just for high achievers. I remember they used to complain so much about the application questions in year 12 and how studying the content never helps (much like you). What I’m trying to say is, the system is not perfect and not everyone will like it. That doesn’t make us bad students or inherently bad at tests. It’s a period of your life that you get the opportunity to go through. You do well, good on you and if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world. Methods is over and there’s literally nothing you can do but wait for results. If you carry the “I’m inherently bad at tests” mindset into uni, then trust me you WILL be bad at tests. Anyway that’s my 2c

[sweetiepi]

Friendly warning:

This is an encouragement to stay closely on the topic of "test taking skills in uni"  since we seem to be sliding away from that.

Really don't want this to become another "previous exam difficulty compared to this year" thread.

I will not hesitate to lock this thread if topic does not stay on track.

[K888]

Re: OP's question - nah I don't think you'll have the same problem in uni. Obviously it depends on the unit you're doing, but I found that in VCE questions were always about including the right key word and answering the question in a specific way. In my experience at uni, you're not learning how to answer a question. You're learning knowledge, then you're asked to apply it. They want to see that you've understood a concept, not that you can answer a question in a certain way. I find it a lot easier to express myself in uni assessments than I did in any high school assessments.