Studying for the Regents

All New York High School students are required to take several Regents to graduate. They're typically given in January, June, and August, and are among the most feared and most difficult tests high schoolers take, second only to the SAT, ACT, and AP Tests. They don't have to be that way, though. Here are some tips for studying for the Regents.

• Start studying now. That's right, you heard me. It's the middle of February, but it's never too early to start studying for Regents. 
• Review your class notes. Your teacher isn't standing in front of the room giving you notes because she likes the sound of her own voice. She's teaching you everything you need to know for that Big Test, and you should be a) paying close attention, b) taking great notes, and c) studying from those notes. 
• Go through old class tests. If you got a 75 on the Unit 3 test, ask yourself why you got a 75. Look at the types of questions you got wrong, and make extra sure to review those topics. 
• If you are practicing for a language regents, there are some special steps you should take. 
• Watch a Spanish (let's just assume the foreign language you're studying is Spanish, for ease of reading and writing) TV show for kids. The kind of Spanish you're going to be tested on is relatively simple. It's not the Spanish translation of Paradise Lost, it's not going to move you to tears, and it may not even be particularly interesting. But it is meant for intermediate readers, which is good for you. 
• Read a Spanish book intended for teens. The writing won't be as complex as in an adult book, and you might find it interesting. Teens are teens no matter where they're from. 
• Practice writing. Write your journal entry in Spanish one day. Write a love note in Spanish to that cute girl in isle one. (Just make sure you give it to her at an appropriate time, i.e. not during Spanish class) 
• Practice your speaking. Even if it's just to the mirror, it's a good idea to become a better Spanish speaker before the test. When I took my Spanish Regents, I was at the top of my class, and to this day I can still read Spanish articles, poems, or teen books, but I still stumbled over the speaking part because I'd neglected to practice. Learn from my mistakes: Have daily conversations with that handsome face in the mirror!
• Go to http://regentsprep.org/. They have some great resources to help you study, including quizzes, practice tests, videos, lessons, and review sheets. 
• Get familiar with your Reference Table, if you are allowed one. If I recall correctly, the Earth Science one is something like 12 pages long. You don't want to spend half of the test searching through your reference table. Learn where everything is before the test. 
• Study from old Regents Exams. Test yourself to get a good idea of the grade you might get in the real Regents, then aim to improve that score by a set number of points. Go through the archives and take every Regents exam you can find. More often than not, questions are recycled, and after a while you start to get a feel for the rhythm of the test. By the time the real test comes around, you'll be super prepared. 

Combatting Test Stress

Oh no! Your teacher just told you that there's a major test in one week. It's in your worst subject, and you've really been struggling with the current unit. On top of that, it's going to count for thirty percent of your final grade. What are you going to do?

Thankfully, this is just a hypothetical scenario, so you can let out that breath of air now. However, this does happen to most students at least once or twice in their academic careers. If you're looking for tips to combat test stress, you've come to the right place. I'm going to lay out a nice little timeline for you to follow, starting with two weeks before the test (I'm not a time traveller, just well-prepared) right up to the seconds before the paper lands on your desk. Please note that the following timeline doesn't apply for major tests like the SHSAT, SAT, ACT, or regents exams. You should start studying for your Regents at least a month in advance, and you should spend a solid six months getting ready for the SAT and ACT tests.


Two weeks before The Test: You don't know that you have a test coming up in two weeks (yet) but as a well-prepared student, you know that teachers give tests and quizzes all the time, and that some of the really mean ones even give random pop quizzes at the worst of times. In order to stay prepared for every eventually, you do a little of studying every night by reviewing your class notes for fifteen minutes every school day. And believe it or not, doing your homework, asking questions in class, conferencing with your teachers, and actively participating in classroom discussions and other in-class work is a form of studying as well. The more invested in learning you are, the easier you'll find tests and quizzes, and studying.


One week before The Test: It's Friday, but you're pretty bummed out about the test. First of all, cheer up. With the right study methods, that test is going to be a piece of cake, or at the very least not a complete disaster. Right now is the time to come up with a plan. Set aside a set amount of time to study for the test every day for the next seven days. Look up practice sheets on the topics, and bookmark them on your computer. Go through your notes, and highlight, star, or even rewrite the most important parts. Make a list of your greatest strengths and weaknesses in this particular class and unit, and make sure you spend a lot more time on your weak areas than on your strong areas. Shoot a quick e-mail to your teacher asking if you can conference with him or her sometime before the test if one or two topics are leaving you completely lost. If you have a tutor, inform him/her of the upcoming test and, if you feel you need it, try to arrange an extra or extended session with them. Call/text/hologram (is that a thing yet?) your friends and see if you can get together a small study group. If you were going to see your friends anyway this weekend, you might want to postpone your trip to the ice skating rink and head over to your local library instead. (If you are going to have a study session this weekend, make sure it's somewhere you won't get distracted. You're not going to get any studying done if someone succumbs to the siren song of your X-Box 500.)


The week leading up to The Test: Stick to the plan. If you said you were going to study for 60 minutes on Monday, study for 60 minutes on Monday. See your tutor, visit your teacher, meet up with your friends for lunch-time study groups, etc. The better prepared you are, the less stressful the test will be.


The night before The Test: Make sure you eat a good dinner tonight. Try to stay away from greasy foods that might give you a belly ache, and make sure you don't wash dinner down with an entire packet of cookie dough. I know it's tempting, but your stomach will not thank you in the morning. Do a bit of light exercise before sundown to burn off some energy (just make sure that you stay away from more dangerous sports like mountain-biking, at least for tonight). Take a nice, relaxing shower or bubble bath and settle down to read your favorite book. Try not to study too hard tonight. Cramming never did anyone any good, and all-nighters are just a bad idea all around. If you feel that glancing over your notes might help you, feel free to spend fifteen or twenty minutes doing so, and then put it away for the evening. You're as prepared as you're ever going to be. If you frantically try to cram everything into your head now, all you're going to do is get stressed out and throw yourself off your game. Go to bed a little early if at all possible, and set your alarm to wake you up 15 minutes earlier than usual.


The morning of The Test: Urg, waking up. I know, I don't like it either, but you're getting up early for a reason. Mornings can be stressful, and stress is the thing we're trying to avoid here. Waking up a little early will give you time to do everything you need to do in a calm, orderly manner instead of in a mad dash to get everything ready before the bus comes. Make sure you have pencils and a calculator in your book bag, and everything else you might need for your test, like a protractor or a ruler. Eat a healthy breakfast with lots of fruits, protein, and whole grains. Example: A toasted whole wheat waffle with strawberries and a little dollop of cream, paired with a breakfast sausage and a glass of milk. If you have to have coffee, reach for the decaf. You don't want to be running to the bathroom every ten minutes during the test, and the smell might be enough to trick your body into waking up faster.


Ten minutes before The Test: If you can, excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. Splash some cool water on your face and do a little bit of stretching to loosen your limbs. Wait until you're done in the bathroom to start doing some calming breathing exercises. Slowly breathe in to the count of five, hold for the count of six, and exhale for the count of seven. Repeat.


Five minutes before The Test: By now, you should be settled in to your desk. Take out your materials if you haven't already, and keep breathing. Tell yourself that everything is going to be fine. You studied, after all. You studied hard, and even if you don't feel confident, you are prepared and awake and full of good food. This test won't know what hit it.


At the end of The Test: Thank goodness that's over, right? If you're still a little (or a lot) nervous about how you did, remind yourself that you studied. You did your best. You got all the extra help you could. And even if you don't get a stellar grade, chances are that you won't have failed, and in the end, it's just a test. One bad grade isn't going to ruin your entire future. You might want to ask your teacher if they offer extra credit as well, especially if you asked them for a conference earlier in the week. Teachers tend to be a lot more willing to help you succeed if you're willing to go the extra mile and meet them halfway.

Tips for Taking the Test: Math Edition

With the NYS Math Exam coming up tomorrow, you might be looking for some tips for taking the test. If so, you've come to the right place!

• Stay focused. Nothing matters (for a few hours at least) except for the test.
• If permitted, use a calculator to avoid silly mistakes.
• At the end of the test, take time to make sure that your answers are legible (easily read). You can lose easy points if the grader can't understand what you've written.
• Show all of your work, even if you used a calculator. You can lose points for not doing so.
• For the multiple choice section of the test, do all work and computations/calculations before checking out the four answers. This will help you avoid careless mistakes. If none of the answer choices correspond to the answer you calculated, follow these steps:
• Make sure you've read the problem carefully. Did you miss a step? Did you add when you needed to subtract? Did you do step two first instead of step one?
• Re-do the problem. 
• If you still get the same answer, choose the answer choice that makes the most sense - generally the one closest to the answer you calculated.
• Look for key words in the problem. If the problem says to estimate, don't do an exact calculation! 
• Make sure your answer makes sense. Sometimes the test-makers will try to fool you with units that don't make sense, decimals in the wrong place, etc. 
• Pace yourself. Don't rush, but leave yourself enough time to finish as many questions as possible.
• For the second and third parts of the test, you might come across a question (or a few) asking you to explain how you arrived at an answer. Make sure you remember to include every step in your answer. 
• Answer every question. If you need to skip a question, make sure you go back to it.
• Don't spend too much time on one question. 
• Try not to guess. If you have to guess, cross off one or two answer choices first, then make an educated guess. 
• Believe in yourself. You're going to do fine. You've learned everything on the test already! 
• Don't stress yourself out tonight, or the morning before the test. If you're going to study, stick to vocabulary and/or reviewing key ideas you know that you've had trouble with throughout the year.
• Remember that I believe in you too! Good luck! 

Tips for Taking the Test: Part Five

The Morning Of Edition

• Wake up early enough that you're not late for school.
• Eat a healthy breakfast. 
• Go through your normal morning routine. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, wash your face, etc. 
• Try to keep the morning as stress-free as possible. If that means waking up five minutes early to avoid rushing around trying to get ready, do it. 
• When you get to school, try to avoid panicking. Take deep breaths and do some chair exercises. 
• Eat your snack before the test if your teacher lets you. 
• Stay hydrated with a water bottle if your teacher lets you.
• During the test, stay focused. 
• Try to do your best. No matter what anyone else tells you, your best is all you can do. 
• Don't panic if you find yourself coming across a question you have no idea how to answer. Go back to the passage and try to find the answer, but try not to spend too much time on one question. Skip the question if you need to, and remember to leave a space on your answer document for it. Go back to it at the end, and if you need to, eliminate one or two answer choices then make an educated guess. 
• Don't worry; you'll do fine. :) 

Tips for Taking the Test: Part Four

The Night Before Edition

• Get a good night's sleep. 
• Eat a healthy dinner.
• Relax with your favorite book or TV show. 
• Don't overexert yourself.
• Don't study. You might feel compelled to do one last practice test, but it won't help. All of your education thus far has been preparing you to take this test. There is nothing new you can learn to help you take the test tomorrow. There is nothing that you don't already know that will help you. 
• Don't strain your eyes. Don't spend too much time at the computer or playing video games or watching TV. Don't read a book with very small print font. Don't squint at things. You want your eyes to be fresh for tomorrow. 
• Try not to strain your muscles. Skip the exercise routine for today. 
• Prepare everything the night before. Prepare your pencils and snacks. Get your bookbag ready for tomorrow morning. 
• Relax. You're going to do fine. Check out these tips for relaxation if you start freaking out: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot
• If you're one of our students, feel free to call us for some last-minute tips and motivation. :) 
• Check out the next post for what to do the morning of the test. 

Tips for Taking the Test: Part Three

This post is going to be all about test-taking vocabulary.

Go to this site and watch the video. Pay attention to the words in white, then scroll down for the lyrics. Click on each word in blue to learn more about it: http://www.flocabulary.com/test-taking-vocabulary/

Describe: Give specific details that paint a verbal picture of what you are trying to write about

Identify: To find, to point out

Explain: Tell why something is the way it is

Infer: Make an educated guess based on the details in the text

Develop: To create and expand upon

Evaluate: Examine all the parts of a whole and make a judgement based on those parts

Justify: Provide facts, details, and evidence from the text to support your stance or your answer

Analysis: To break something down into parts and explain each one in detail

Tips for Taking the Test: Part Two

The last post focused on general tips for taking the test. This one will focus on tips for the writing section.

• Use as many details as possible. Test-graders love details. 
• Pre-write for 5 minutes. Outline, brainstorm, organize your ideas, etc. Don't just start writing. If you have an outline, your final piece will be more organized and coherent. 
• Edit once you're done for 5 minutes if you have the time. Check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. 
• Check out this rubric to find out exactly what the test takers are looking for: http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder717/Unit%20One%20Reading%20Rubric%20-%20Q3.pdf
• Your goal is a 3 or a 4. You need to be clear and coherent to achieve this grade. You need to use lots of details and prove that your stance is the correct one. You need to never deviate from the prompt or go off on a tangent. Your grammar and punctation need to be on target. You need to be logical and have great analysis. 
• Here is another rubric. It's from Georgia, but test-takers are looking for the same thing all over the nation: http://jortegablog.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/8th-grade-writing-rubric.pdf
• Make sure you answer the question being asked. You could write the best essay ever written about dogs, but if the question is asking about cats, you're going to get a zero. 
• Don't make anything up. Only use details from the text. 
• Go back to the text and underline details you want to use in your response. 
• In your conclusion, make a big connection if possible. Make a text-to-text or text-to-world connection or say something profound that sums up your entire essay. 

Tips For Taking the Test: Part One

• Read the questions first. 
• Write a few key words describing what you are looking for. For example, if the question asks for the main idea of the passage, write main idea. 
• Remember what you are looking for as you read the passage. 
• Mark up the questions - underline, circle, box, you name it. Write all over the test. 
• Read the directions. Sometimes there will be clues in the directions that tell you vital information about the passage like what time period it was written in or what genre it is. 
• Mark up the passage - write 3 words next to every paragraph that summarizes the paragraph. This will help you find what you're looking for when you go back to the passage to answer the questions. 
• Go back to the passage for every question. You need to have a justification for you answer. 
• Wear a watch.
• Wear a rubber band too. If you feel yourself getting distracted, pluck it gently. 
• Concentrate on the test. Nothing matters but the test. 
• Pretend that the entire world is contained within the test. There exists nothing outside of or beyond the world of the test. Everything you know or ever knew is in the test. 
• You can find the answer to every question in the passage, if you look hard enough. 
• If you feel you miss important details when you read, read the passage twice. This is especially important for my ESL students and my students who get extra time. 
• Don't guess!!! Everything you need to know is in the passage. 
• Take a small snack to eat before-hand so you don't get hungry during the test.
• Eat a good breakfast of protein and carbs. That means no sugary snacks or Lucky Charms. 
• Read every choice before answering the question. B might seem like a great answer, but D might be the perfect - and the right - answer. 
• Use context clues when dealing with unfamiliar words. 
• Find the main idea and themes of every passage. 
• Take your time. Don't rush. 
• Do some chair stretches before the test. Roll your shoulders. Lift your legs. Do arm circles. Sit up straight and stretch your back. It doesn't matter if you look silly; it'll help you loosen up and relax. 
• Visualize yourself getting you goal grade. Picture a 3 in your mind, and work towards that goal. 
• Remember that I believe in you. You're going to do great!