15

strategies
every test taker
should know
CST Testing : May 2011

Created by Ms.Panasyan,
Instructional Coach /Testing Coordinator
•  The CST test based on the California State
Standards that you are already learning in
your classes.
•  Test scores are used to evaluate your
progress and become a permanent part of
your record.
•  Test scores determine your placement in
various programs such as AVID, Honors,
Algebra , and some extra curricular activities.
•  High School counselors look at your test
scores to decide which classes you are
going to take.
•  The results of your test are used to calculate
our school API scores.
 • Get plenty of rest
the night before
each testing day
You need 7-9 hours
of sleep, so go to
bed at 10pm.

• Eat a good nutritious

breakfast the
morning of each
• Avoid the morning
testing day
rush. Set out clothes the
night before. Get to (Milk w/cereal, eggs,
school a few minutes fruits; no Hot Cheetos
and candy.)
earlier than you usually
do.
 Always listen to the directions
LISTEN given by teacher.
• Read the directions written on the test
• Read the question and all answer
READ choices before marking anything.

• Ask the teacher if you

ASK do not understand the
directions.
 1. Don t spend 2. It is important to
too much time on answer every
any one question. question even if
you are not sure of
5. Answer the the answer.
easiest questions
3. Use all your time!
first, but be sure to
There are no extra
go back to those 4. Save time at the points for finishing
questions you end to review your early.
skipped. test and make sure
you haven't left out
any answers.
 If you can t figure out
which answer is correct,
try to eliminate (get rid
Eliminate of) the answers that you
obviously know are wrong
wrong answer
choices
Eliminate choices
that are partly
correct

Eliminate items that

are correct but don t
answer the question
 Example
Which development most enabled early
peoples to form permanent settlements?
A. advances in agricultural production
B. the creation of democratic government
C.  the spread of monotheism
D. advances in written language

CSH10239
 Educated guessing
means using
everything you know
A random guess gives to attempt to answer
the question
you a 25% chance
of getting the right
answer. An educated
guess gives you
chance of answering
correctly up to
75% .
 Your Goal

Choice (a) Choose an answer

for every question!
Choice (b)

Choice (c)

Choice (d)
 ANSWERS WITH THE
FOLLOWING WORDS
ARE USUALLY
WRONG/FALSE

ALL ALWAYS
MUST NONE
NEVER EVERY
ENTIRELY BEST
WORST ONLY
EVERYONE
 Example
Which of the following is true for people who
live in California?
•  A. Everyone in California lives on the San Andreas
Fault.
•  B. Because California s most powerful earthquake
was in 1906, the next powerful earthquake will be
centuries away.
•  C. Only people who live in California experience
earthquakes.
•  D. People living in California experience earthquakes
more frequently than in any other place in the
country.
 ANSWERS WITH THE
FOLLOWING WORDS
ARE USUALLY
CORRECT/TRUE
SOME
SOMETIMES
GENERALLY
USUALLY
FREQUENTLY
PROBABLY
MOST FEW
MANY OFTEN
SELDOM
 Example
Which of the following is true for people who
live in California?
•  A. Everyone in California lives on the San Andreas
Does not
Fault. make sense….
•  B. Because California s most powerful earthquake
was in 1906, the next powerful earthquake will be
centuries away.
•  C. Only people who live in California experience
earthquakes.
•  D. People living in California experience earthquakes
more frequently than in any other place in the
country.
 The context of a word
includes all the words and
sentences that surround it
WHEN THE ANSWER IS and the situation in which
NOT CLEAR, LOOK FOR
the word is used
CLUES ( CONTEXT,
TENSE, WORD TYPE,
GRAMMAR) IN THE
QUESTION AND THE
ANSWER CHOICES
 Clue words in test questions:
Who? Person What? Thing
Where? Place When? Time
Why? Reason Which? Choice
How? A way something is done
How many ? Number
 Example
Our class will see a play,__________ends
this week.
a.  Who
b.  What
1.Use elimination
c.  Which strategy first…
2. Look for a clue
d.  When 3. Play is a noun in this
sentence, so ask yourself
what kind of a play it is.
The effect of negatives Simplify the question by
is to make the sentence getting rid of double
the opposite of what it negatives.
would be without the
negative

Negatives:
Simplify this statement:
Not None No one
Most people are
Hardly Scarcely
not unafraid of snakes.
Prefixes such as
Un- Non- Dis- In-
Most people are
afraid of snakes.
 Example
Mrs. Castro dislikes when students are being
rude to their teachers.
Without changing the meaning of the sentence, which
words can best be used to replace the underlined part?
A.  Enjoys
B.  Tolerates
C.  Punishes
D.  Does not like
In Math, ESTIMATING is an approximate answer
obtained by rounding the numbers BEFORE you
add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
Always ask yourself: Is the
answer reasonable?

What is 325+917+ 796?

A. 56 B. 2038 C. 1038 D. 10,564
 Examples
What value of N makes the
equation true?
N-19=33
A.  245
B.  42
C.  14 Eliminate
D.  52 obviously wrong
answers first and
then
estimate!
Example
An airplane flew 2905 miles in 5 hours.
What was the speed of the plane?
A. 12 miles per hour
B. 2324 miles per hour
C. 581 miles per hour
D. 481 miles per hour
1.Read all the titles, labels, and other given
information
2.  Check the units of measurement
3.  3. Look for a pattern, trend, or comparison in the
graph or table
1.  Read the title of the map
2.  Check the map key( legend)
3.  Look at the map scale (if you
need to find a distance)
4. Re-read the question again
• Answers about where and when
the story takes place are found
at the beginning

• Answers about a problem of the

story are usually found in the
middle

• Answers about how the problem

was resolved are usually found
at the end
What s the Big •  Events and characters
Idea? that make up the story
•  The purpose of the story
• The point the author is
trying to make

Tip: Look for the

Big idea in the first
two paragraphs of
the story !
 Example
Read this outline of the article.
I.  Introduction
II.  Athenian Democracy
III.  Representative Democracy
IV.  Conclusion
Which main idea belongs first under section III?
a.  Every citizen is a member of a government
b.  A presidential election is like a town meeting
c.  Al Gore got about 500,000 more votes than George Bush
did
d.  A few elected officials represent a very large population
Use all the strategies
you have learned
 More Tips
þ  If the test requires you to read
passages and then answer questions
about what you read,
Read the questions first.
þ  Line up place value correctly on
your scratch paper (thousands,
hundreds, tens, ones).
þ  Remember: Never leave any
question on a test blank.
If you misbubble
you re in trouble

If you reach a hard question and

can t make your educated guess, an
easier one is just around the corner.
Write a light ? next to the question
you are skipping and move on to the
next question.
How do you prevent
misbubbling?

At the end of the test, go back to

the questions with ? next to them
and see if you can try to answer it.
Please be sure to answer every
question.
I am scared of
the test
monster!!!!
• Remember the strategies! They will help
you to feel confident.
•  Think positively about doing your best !
• Take a deep breath to relax.
• Answer EVERY question.
• Make intelligent educated guesses.
• Think about one item at a time.
• DO YOUR BEST !!!!
 When you are done …
ü  Fill in bubbles fully, write neatly, and erase stray
marks.
ü  If you finish early, check to make sure you have
answered all questions.
ü  Once you have finished, please remain quiet as
others will still be working on the test.