Chemically enhancing your performance on high stakes tests?

Test Preparation
1

<p>Has anyone here seen any (proven) positive increases on test scores by taking any performance enhancing substances on test day? </p>

<p>By "performance enhancing substances", I mean any potion, lotion, food, or concoction that can be possibly improve performance via:</p>

<p>(1) Eliminating performance anxiety, to the point where you have no attachment to results</p>

<p>(2) Improving brain function so that you don't make any "stupid" mistakes</p>

<p>(3) Increasing mental stamina or processing speed</p>

<p>(4) Enhancing creativity (for the essay and math sections!)</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that I only wish to discuss what you might take on TEST DAY ONLY, as I don't want to get into the long-term effects of taking some potentially dangerous drug over time. I think that we all understand that there is no substitute for long-term, sober, well allocated study time. </p>

<p>For the sake of discussion, lets not discuss what is legal and what is not, as every country/state/town has its own laws. Also, lets not turn this into a debate about the morality of taking performance enhancing substances...I don't want to talk about ethics nor legality in this thread, only about what is STRATEGIC advice for the high score.</p>

<p>An example that comes to mind is the old advice we have all heard "Eat a lot of fish, and you will be smart". Does this work? Is eating nothing but fish for dinner for the 30 days prior to testing going to help your processing ability on the exam?</p>

<p>Or perhaps it is smart to take some blood pressure medication during the test to keep your heart rate down?</p>

<p>I realize that how we might respond to this topic could possibly border on pure conjecture, because it is impractical to set up control and experimental groups and all that, but... </p>

<p>What are your thoughts?</p>

2

<p>I ate a bowl of Cocoa Puffs with chocolate milk before every standardized test so that my hands were so shaky, I couldn’t bubble anything neatly.</p>

3

<p>If you’re the type that gets too bored to focus through those reading passages I would drink lots and lots of coffee! xD</p>

<p>On the other hand, if you’re the type that gets too nervous to hold a pencil, I’m not sure what you can do exactly. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to take anything that isn’t natural to try to calm you down, but rather do things that will relax you. Maybe meditate, drink a cup of herbal tea, or read a boring book? :P</p>

<p>If it means anything, someone once told me that eating a mint or two before taking the helps your brain think clearly. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I’d imagine having a fresh breath would help your concentration somewhat.</p>

4

<p>ritalin/focalin/adderall
These 3 medications are for ADHD/ADD, and can increase attention span/focus significantly. I have personally never taken any of these drugs but I have heard they can help alot.</p>

5

<p>9 hrs of sleep + Honey Nut Cheerios w/ Milk and a Glass of water
I didn’t have a concentration problem on the test.</p>

6

<p>smh at this thread</p>

7

<p>When it came to high-stakes tests, I’ve always gone with high-protein the day before and breakfast the day of, but then eating a lot of sugary stuff (like doughnuts). If I do drink coffee/energy drinks, I make sure to eat sufficient amounts of food, since I tend to go hypoglycemic if I don’t eat enough with my caffeine. </p>

<p>A long-term thing I find helpful is moderate levels of aerobic exercise (approx 30-60 min a day, 5-6 days a week for me). I think it makes me calmer and allows me to take more stress. Also lets me eat, say, two doughnuts without worrying about how they’ll affect my waistline.</p>

<p>I’ve heard that sufficient sleep/yoga might help if you tend to be twitchy.</p>

<p>Vitamins - I take C and calcium. The later to counterbalance the calcium that the caffeine I drink leaches out of my system, and the first as an immune system boost. I take A the days going into an exam as well.</p>

<p>My qualifications: 2360 SAT (technically was my third try, but since my first was for Duke TIP in 7th grade and my second to qualify for my HS in 10th grade, I’m going to count it as my second try.)</p>

<p>(Oh, and about concentration: I heard that drinking games help, but only if you subtract the alcohol and the other players. No, seriously. Try counting to one-hundred, saying “buzz” on any multiple of seven, “tweet” on any Fib. sequence number, and “chirp” on any prime and see how much concentration that takes. Probably takes longer than Rit, Add, or Des, but it’ll last longer too. Without, say, risking psychosis or the loss of long-term memory.)</p>

8

<p>[qoute]Please keep in mind that I only wish to discuss what you might take on TEST DAY ONLY, as I don’t want to get into the long-term effects of taking some potentially dangerous drug over time.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sounds much like what drug addicts say. Only this one time.</p>

9

<p>I took the SAT about a week after my friend Ivory died…</p>

<p>One of my other friends Jamal, used his ashes as fertilizer for a batch of pot he was growing. I took the test high and scored a 1600.</p>

10

<p>i would just smoke Ivory’s ashes</p>

11

<p>i’m a big fan of performance enhancing drugs. Before each test, i take a bit of HGH and THG, and like magic my muscle’s increase in size. This allows me my hand to hurt less on the essay portion, and allows me to hit 50+ homeruns every season.</p>

12

<p>You want to take some long term energy sources. Things rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, etc.</p>

<p>Make sure you’re well hydrated, and I would exercise mildly before the test because it’s proven to increase brain function etc.</p>

<p>It’s on a case by case basis so there you go.</p>