Timed test?

[kan1dice]

Should you be getting all questions correct during un-timed practice before you begin taking timed test?

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for asking, Kandice. In my opinion, no, don't wait. Untimed practice is great for applying strategies and concepts and techniques, and for increasing your confidence and drilling yourself, but it isn't about perfection, and timed practice has a lot of other benefits than just getting faster.

Timed practice tests need to be a regular part of your study plan, from the beginning with a timed diagnostic tests and then periodically to see how things are coming along. They help you identify areas of strength and weakness, they help you learn to deal with test anxiety by making the experience familiar and even routine, and they help build your physical, mental and emotional stamina. Timed tests help you hone your sense of your own pacing, your guessing strategy, your skills at deciding when to skip a question or game or passage, and your prioritizing within sections (maybe do the easy game with 7 questions before attempting the harder one with only 6?)

In my experience, a good study plan incorporates timed tests, timed sections, untimed sections, untimed problem sets, untimed drills and practice on concepts, analysis, introspection, and breaks to rest and recharge, and probably more.

You''ll notice, perhaps, that I did not mention untimed tests. Some folks favor them, and they have their reasons and may well be right, but I don't. If you aren't going to run a stopwatch, I see little point to doing four or five sections in a row. Instead, I would break a test down into sections with a focused goal each time of improving one or two question types and a broader goal of improving the consistency with which you apply your strategies across the section. After each section, analyze what happened and how you could make improvements, avoid mistakes, struggle less, prephrase more, etc.

That's my feeling on the matter, but it's hardly the only opinion on the subject. Perhaps some of my colleagues will jump in and add theirs, too. Meanwhile, I say don't wait - if you haven't taken a timed practice test lately (or at all), get on it and let's see what all your studies to date have done for you. Waiting for perfection is a recipe for waiting until it's much, much too late, and misses too many opportunities to learn important stuff.

Good luck!