11 Test Taking Tips & Strategies

1. Read Questions Carefully

Scores on tests are greatly affected by reading ability. In answering a test item, you should begin by carefully reading the stem and then asking
yourself the following questions:
What is the question really asking?
Are there any key words?
What information relevant to answering this question is included in the stem?
How would I ask this question in my own words?
How would I answer this question in my own words?
After you have answered these questions, carefully read the options and then ask yourself the following questions:
Is there an option that is similar to my answer?
Is this option the best, most complete answer to the question?
Deal with the question as it is stated, without reading anything into it, or making assumptions about it. Answer the question asked, not the one you
would like to answer. For simple recall items the self-questioning process usually will be completed quickly. For more complex items the self-
questioning process may take longer, but it should assist you in clarifying the item and selecting the best response.
2. Identify Key Words
Certain key words in the stem, the options, or both should alert you to the need for caution in choosing your answer. Because few things are
absolute without exception, avoid selecting answers that include words such as always, never, all, every, only, must, no, except, and none. Answers
containing these key word are rarely correct because they place special limitations and qualifications on potentially correct answers. For example:
All of the following are services of the National Kidney Foundation except:
1. Public education programs
2. Research about kidney disease
3. Fund-raising affairs for research activities
4. Identification of potential transplant recipients
This stem contains two key words: all and except. They limit the correct answer choice to the one option that does not represent a service of the
National Kidney Foundation. When except, not, or a phrase such as all but one of the following appears in the stem, the inappropriate option is the
correct answerin this instance, option 4.
If the options in an item do not seem to make sense because more than one option is correct, reread the question; you may have missed one of the
key words in the stem. Also be on guard when you see one of the key words in an option; it may limit the context in which such an option would be
correct.
3. Pay Attention to Specific Details
The well-written multiple-choice question is precisely stated, providing you with only the information needed to make the question or problem
clear and specific. Careful reading of details in the stem can provide important clues to the correct option. For example: A male client is told that he
will no longer be able to ingest alcohol if he wants to live. To effect a change in his behavior while he is in the hospital, the nurse should attempt to:
1. Help the client set short-term dietary goals
2. Discuss his hopes and dreams for the future
3. Discuss the pathophysiology of the liver with him
4. Withhold approval until he agrees to stop drinking
The specific clause to effect a change in his behavior while he is in the hospital is critical. Option 2 is not really related to his alcoholism. Option 3
may be part of educating the alcoholic, but you would not expect a behavioral change observable in the hospital to emerge from this discussion.
Option 4 rejects the client as well as his behavior instead of only his behavior. Option 1, the correct answer, could result in an observable
behavioral change while the client is hospitalized; for example, he could define ways to achieve short-term goals relating to diet and alcohol while
in the hospital.
4. Eliminate Clearly Wrong or Incorrect Answers
Eliminate clearly incorrect, inappropriate, and unlikely answers to the question asked in the stem. By systematically eliminating distractors that are
unlikely in the context of a given question, you increase the probability of selecting the correct answer. Eliminating. obvious distractors also allows
you more time to focus on the options that appear to be potentially sound answers to the question. For example:
The four levels of cognitive ability are:
1. Assessing, analyzing, applying, evaluating
2. Knowledge, analysis, assessing, comprehension
3. Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis
4. Medical-surgical nursing, obstetric nursing, psychiatric nursing
Option 1 contains both cognitive levels and nursing behaviors, thus eliminating it from consideration. Option 4 is clearly inappropriate since the
choices are all clinical areas. Both options 2 and 3 contain levels of cognitive ability; however, option 2 includes assessing, which is a nursing
behavior. Therefore option 3 is correct. By reducing the plausible options, you reduce the material to consider and increase the probability
of selecting the correct option.
5. Identify Similar Options
When an item contains two or more options that are similar in meaning, the successful test taker knows that all are correct, in which case it is a
poor question, or that none is correct, which is more likely to be the case. The correct option usually will either include all the similar options or
exclude them entirely. For example:
When teaching newly diagnosed diabetic clients about their condition, it is important for the nurse to focus on:
1. Dietary modifications
2. Use of sugar substitutes
3. Their present understanding of diabetes
4. Use of diabetic nutritional exchange lists
Options 1, 2, and 4 deal only with the diabetic diet, involving no other aspect of diabetic teaching; it is impossible to select the most correct option
because each represents equally plausible, though limited, answers to the question. Option 3 is the best choice because it is most complete and
allows the other three options to be excluded. As another example:
A childs intelligence is influenced by:
1. A variety of factors
2. Socioeconomic factors
3. Heredity and environment
4. Environment and experience
The most correct answer is option 1. It includes the material covered by the other options, eliminating the need for an impossible choice, since
each of the other options is only partially correct.
6. Identify Answer (Option) Components
When an answer contains two or more parts, you can reduce the number of potentially correct answers by identifying one part as incorrect. For
example:
After a cholecystectomy the postoperative diet is usually:
1. High fat, low calorie
2. High fat, low protein
3. Low fat, high calorie
4. Low fat, high protein
If you know, for instance, that the diet after a cholecystectomy is usually low or moderate in fat, you can eliminate options 1 and 2 from
consideration. If you know that the cholecystectomy client usually is overweight, you can eliminate option 3 from consideration. Therefore option 4
is correct.
7. Identify Specific Determiners
When the options of a test item contain words that are identical or similar to words in the stem, the alert test taker recognizes the similarities as
clues about the likely answer to the question. The stem word that clues you to a similar word in the option or that limits potential options is known
as a specific determiner. For example:
The government agency responsible for administering the nursing practice act in
each state is the:
1. Board of regents
2. Board of nursing
3. State nurses association
4. State hospital association
Options 2 and 3 contain the closely related words nurse and nursing. The word nursing, used both in the stem and in option 2, is a clue to the
correct answer.
8. Identify Words in the Options That Are Closely Associated With Words in the Stem
Be alert to words in the options that may be closely associated with but not identical to a word or words in the stem. For example:
When a person develops symptoms of physical illness for which psychogenic factors act as causative agents, the resulting illness is classified as:
1. Dissociative
2. Compensatory
3. Psychophysiologic
4. Reaction formation
Option 3 should strike you as a likely answer since it combines physical and psychologic factors, like those referred to in the stem.
9. Watch for Grammatical Inconsistencies
If one or more of the options are not grammatically consistent with the stem, the alert test taker usually can eliminate these distractors. The
correct option must be consistent with the form of the question. If the question demands a response in the singular, plural options usually can be
safely eliminated. When the stem is in the form of an incomplete sentence, each option should complete the sentence in a grammatically correct
way. For
example:
Communicating with a male client who is deaf will be facilitated by:
1. Use gestures
2. Speaking loudly
3. Find out if he has a hearing aid
4. Facing the client while speaking
Options 1 and 3 do not complete the sentence in a grammatically correct way and can therefore be eliminated. Option 2 would be of no assistance
with a deaf client, so option 4 is the correct answer.
10. Be Alert to Relevant Information From Earlier Questions
Occasionally, remembering information from one question may provide you with a clue for answering a later question. For example:
A client has an intestinal tube inserted for treatment of intestinal obstruction. Intestinal suction can result in excessive loss of:
1. Protein enzymes
2. Energy carbohydrates
3. Water and electrolytes
4. Vitamins and minerals
If you determined that the correct answer to this question was option 3, it may help you to answer a later question. For example:
Critical assessment of a client with intestinal suction should include observation for:
1. Edema
2. Nausea
3. Belching
4. Dehydration
The correct answer is option 4. If you knew that excessive loss of water and electrolytes may lead to dehydration, you could have used the clue
provided in the earlier question to assist you in answering the later question.
11. Make Educated Guesses
When you are unsure about the correct answer to a question, it is better to make an educated guess than not to answer the question. You
generally can eliminate one or more of the distractors by using partial knowledge and the methods just listed. The elimination process increases
your chances of selecting the correct option from those remaining. Elimination of two distractors on a four-option multiple-choice item increases
your probability of selecting the correct answer from 25% to 50%.

12 Effective Test-Taking Skills & Strategies for Nurses
Before stepping into the real world of nursing, one must pass their licensure examinations first! Reviewing board exam
questions are just a way of further enhancing your knowledge and confidence for one of the most important test in your life. What
you must remember is that you are already knowledgeable about cores of nursing, but this knowledge would be futile if you cannot
practice effective test-taking skills during your exams.
Researches suggest that an examiner who fully understands test construction and familiar with appropriate test-taking strategies
score higher than those with similar level of knowledge but with inadequate test-taking skills.
Multiple choice tests are different from tests such as essays, identifications and true/false. In multiple choice exams, the question is
called the stem. The stem is followed by four alternative answers. One answer is correct, and the other three are
called distracterbecause they distract your attention from identifying the correct answer. Note also that these distracter are not
necessarily incorrect answers but rather they may not be as correct as as the one you are required to choose.
Here we have 12 effective test-taking skills and strategies that can help you during your examinations:
1. Do not read extra meaning into the question
Tests questions are made to be direct and to the point. The question asks for one particular response and you should not read or add other
information into the question.
Often you will find questions that require common sense answers and that reading into these questions may give you an other
interpretation. You should not search for subtle meaning about the questions or answers.
Ask yourself What is the question asking?. Look for keywords and phrases to help you understand. Interpret the question correctly first
before reading into the choices.
2. Understand exactly what the stem is asking before considering the distracter
Make sure you read the stem correctly. Notice particularly the way the question is phrase. Is it asking for the best response or the initial
response? Understand what the question is asking.
3. Rephrase the question in your own words
This technique requires you to interpret or translate the question into your own words so that it is very clear in your own mind. Rephrasing the
stem of the question can assist your read the question correctly and in turn choose the appropriate response.
Placing the question into your own words would help you in removing extraneous data and get into the core of the stem.
4. When analyzing the distracter, isolate what is important in the answer alternatives from what is not
important relative to the question.
In a good test construction, all of the distracter should be feasible and reasonable and should apply directly to the stem. There should be a
commonality in all of the distracter.
Also, all of the distracter may be correct but not the right chose for the specific question that is being asked. The technique here is to ask
yourself whether each possible alternative is true or false in relation to the stem.
5. After choosing the correct answer alternative and separating it form the distracter, go back to the stem
and make sure your choice does, in fact, answer the question.
Many test-takers fail to recheck the answer with the stem, and they answer the question incorrectly.
An effective strategy is to judge all four alternative choices against the stem and not against one another. Read the stem, then check
alternative 1 against the stem, then check alternative 2 against the stem and so on. This process will eliminate choosing an alternative that
does not fit with the question.
6. When a question contains multiple variables as alternative choices, use the elimination of variable
technique.
Each question may pose different alternatives with several variables. Use the process of elimination. Study the question first and ask yourself
what variable fits with this condition, or after examining the distracter underline the symptom that you know is correct. Now ask yourself what
variable is not present with this condition. Again examine the distracter and cross out those variables that are incorrect. By this process your
probably eliminated at least two distracter even without taking the time to consider the other two.
7. When answering a difficult question, utilize your body of knowledge.
When you come across a difficult question and you cannot immediately identify the answer, go back to your body of knowledge and draw all
the information that you do know about the condition.
If you are unfamiliar with the disease or disorder and cannot choose the right nursing action, try to generalize to other situations. For example,
if the question asks about dog bites, and youve never learned the course of the disorder, go back to an area of k nowledge that you do know,
for example, circulation and body response to toxic substances.
Even though you do not know exactly what to d, you might know what not to do. Eliminate distracter to increase your chances of arriving at
the correct answer.
8. The ability to guess correctly is both a skill and an art.
The board exams is not a right minus wrong type. It is important for you to answer every question even if you have to guess. Guessing gives
you only a 25% chance of getting the correct answer.
Try to eliminate at least one (or more) distracter as this will increase the percentage margin of chance for guessing correctly.
Examine the distracter and if one is the exact opposite of another (e.g. complete bed rest is different from activity as tolerated; both cannot be
correct since they are of opposites), choose the one that seems to be most logical.
Try to identify the underlying principle that supports the question. If you can answer the question, you might then be able to guess the correct
answer. This strategy is especially true with a psychosocial question.
Look at the way the alternatives are presented. Are there two answers that are very close? often when this occurs, the ability to discriminate
will show evidence of judgement. Check to see if one, more than the other, is the best choice for the question.
Are there distracter that are presented not logical (which are correct in themselves but do not have anything to do with the question)?
Eliminate these and focus on other alternatives.
Use your intuition. If you cannot choose an alternative from a logical point, allow yourself to feel which one might be right. Often your
subconscious mind will choose correctly (based on all the conscious knowledge you have of course) so simply let yourself feel which alternative
might be right. Remember, its better to choose one answer than none at all.
9. Choosing answer from a hunch
There comes a time when you are faced with a certain question and you have a hunch that this particular choice is correct. Do we depend on
this hunch?. Current studies supports that hunches are often correct, for they are based on rapid subconscious connections in the brain.
Your stored knowledge, recall, and experience can combine to assist you in arriving at the correct answer. So, if you have an initial hunch, go
with it! Do not chance the answer if and only if, upon reflection, it just doesnt seem right. On the other hand, if later in the test you find
relevant information or make new connection of information and you feel that your answer was incorrect, do go back and change it.
10. Choosing the best answer from a strategy point-of-view.
Frequently, the most comprehensive answer is the best choice (Longest the best!). For example, if two alternatives seems reasonable but one
answer includes the other (i.e., it is more detailed, more comprehensive), then this answer would be the best choice. If an answer focuses on
medical knowledge, be wary, for this alternative might be just a good distractor. Remember, this is a nursing test and questions are designed to
test your nursing competency and safety.
It is unlikely that a question would require a medical action for the correct answer; it may, however offer these actions as distracter.
Beware of answers that contain specific qualifiers, such as always and never. they rarely fit within a logical framework.
11. Time Management is important
Time allotment for each question in the NLE is 2 hours/100 questions is equal to 1.2 minutes. It is important to use your time wisely and
program yourself not to spend too much time on one question. Since your are not penalized for incorrect answers, it is important to finish each
portion of the test.
Prepare yourself to practice time management by timing yourself for each question during your sample exams.
12. Let the Divine Intervention Intervene
If you cannot answer the question. Have faith in the Lord and thus youll be confident to answer each question. If you do not know, He knows.
Ask for Gods help! Remember, you are doing this for His glory!