Be consistent from one part of your answer to another.
Draw a graph if one is required.
Always justify your answers. “Bald answers,” that is, numbers without calculations, don’t receive full
credit.
If a question asks “how,” tell “why” as well.General Test-Taking Tips
Much of being good at test-taking is experience. Your own test-taking history and these tips should help
you demonstrate what you know (and you know a lot) on the exam. The tips in this section are of a general
nature—they apply to taking tests in general as well as to both multiple-choice and free-response type
questions.
Look over the entire exam first , whichever part you are working on. With the exception of, maybe,
Question #1 in each section, the questions are not presented in order of difficulty. Find and do the
easy questions first .
- Don’t spend too much time on any one question . Remember that you have an average of slightly
more than two minutes for each multiple-choice question, 12–13 minutes for Questions 1–5 of the
free-response section, and 25–30 minutes for the investigative task. Some questions are very short
and will give you extra time to spend on the more difficult questions. At the other time extreme,
spending 10 minutes on one multiple-choice question (or 30 minutes on one free-response question)
is not a good use of time—you won’t have time to finish. - Become familiar with the instructions for the different parts of the exam before the day of the exam
. You don’t want to have to waste time figuring out how to process the exam. You’ll have your hands
full using the available time figuring out how to do the questions. Look at the Practice Exams at the
end of this book so you understand the nature of the test. - Be neat! On the Statistics exam, communication is very important. This means no smudges on the
multiple-choice part of the exam and legible responses on the free-response. A machine may score a
smudge as incorrect, and readers will spend only so long trying to decipher your handwriting. - Practice working as many exam-like problems as you can in the weeks before the exam . This will
help you know which statistical technique to choose on each question. It’s a great feeling to see a
problem on the exam and know that you can do it quickly and easily because it’s just like a problem
you’ve practiced on. - Make sure your calculator has new batteries . There’s nothing worse than a “Replace batteries
now” warning at the start of the exam. Bring a spare calculator if you have or can borrow one (you
are allowed to have two calculators). - Bring a supply of sharpened pencils to the exam . You don’t want to have to waste time walking to
the pencil sharpener during the exam. (The other students will be grateful for the quiet, as well.)
Also, bring a good-quality eraser to the exam so that any erasures are neat and complete. - Get a good night’s sleep before the exam . You’ll do your best if you are relaxed and confident in
your knowledge. If you don’t know the material by the night before the exam, you aren’t going to learn
it in one evening. Relax. Maybe watch an early movie. If you know your stuff and aren’t overly tired,
you should do fine.