Freezing on Exams - 5 Tips

"I freeze up when I write exams! I study hard and think I know my stuff, but I freeze up and get low marks!"
Hundreds of high school students have shared this concern with us over the years When students "freeze," their low grades do not reflect their true potential. Since the first step in beating something is understanding it, we began to ask students why it was so difficult to overcome "freezing."
Here are the procedures for active learning:

1.Study Notes: Spend 10 minutes per subject every night and summarize the day's lessons into study notes. Break the information down into Main Idea, Supporting Details and Sub Details. Make these notes short and in point form, in your own words.

2.Review: 48 hours later, review your study notes. Don't memorize; just make sure you fully understand what they mean and what the information is about. Turn the notes into a story or a complete picture — use visualization if possible.

3.Keep Track: Keep a small student day book so that you can keep track of assignments, tests, homework and personal information. Make your entries in class as you get the assignments or test dates and look at your book every night before beginning your study time.

4.Learn About Yourself : What things distract you? Noise? Movement? Crowds? When you discover what makes it hard for you to pay attention, make sure you change your environment as much as possible. If noise bothers you, don't study with a radio on or at the dining room table. Find a quiet place instead.

5.Set Long-Range Goals: Stop expecting school to entertain you. When you learn to stop blaming school for not meeting all your expectations and learn to keep your eye on your long-range goals and dreams, you will begin to feel more control and power over your life. Forget about blaming others; it's your life! Take the responsibility to get the most out of it.
Enjoy!