Does anyone really believe the "poor test taker" excuse?

<p>^ why is she not heavily sedated to keep her calm?i am scared for people's safety when i hear borderline mental lunatics are on the loose.</p>

<p>See, that's not my concern anymore. I'll be hundreds of miles away incase of anything happening :] But really, I pity her roommate. I swear, that girl might end up dead one night..</p>

<p>But you are correct, she NEEDS morphine or something. Oh well.</p>

<p>where does she currently attend college? what is her name? i need to contact her school office.</p>

<p>They knew when they were admitting her there was something up... So, really. No need to contact them. (They'll realize soon.)</p>

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it is lame because test-taking is a skill and if you are not good at it then you are just not good at it, no other excuse. damn man, i have all that it takes to become a pro nba basketball player ; i am tall, strong, fast, can dribble and shoot well but gosh darnit, i just suck when it's gametime. i am just a bad when it comes down to gametime. that's it.

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not at all. in basketball, that's when it really matters, in the game. however, taking a test is not when it really matters. You don't learn the material for a test, you learn it so that you can do a job. There is a helluva difference between not being able to take a test, and not being able to perform the surgery that you're supposed to be able to. And just because you don't do well on tests doesn't mean you can't perform surgery. now then, if it is anxiety related, then you shouldn't have a job in high pressure settings, however, my test taking inadequacies (sp) have nothing to do with pressure... it's multiple choice, and I know a few (i wouldn't say many) other people with the same problem.</p>

<p>if you cant even take a test, then how are you supposed to do something as big as performing surgery when someone's life is at stake?</p>

<p>kerinasagun, that's a bit exaggerated. Some of us are incapable/have difficulty with certain types of tasks (aka public speaking/test taking). But does that render us incapable of performing other tasks we're more comfortable with under pressure? Not necessary. It depends on the person entirely.</p>

<p>i can take tests. just not multiple choice.</p>

<p>i don't think there's such a thing as a "bad test taker". you may screw up on one or two tests, but generally if you get bad on a test, it mostly means... you don't know your stuff. </p>

<p>which is why i don't get why colleges care about ranks and GPA. You can get a 4.0 and be a val at a bad school and be at the same level as a person who has a 2.0 in a better school. school grades are too dependent on the class.</p>

<p>gpa shows that you're willing to do the work in class. if you've got a 2380 SAT and a 2.6 gpa, then the college thinks you're lazy.</p>

<p>darn. that's exactly me. still, the school mark is also a reflection of how much your teachers like you. if i hear a person who gets straight As, i would just say wow, that's great. However, i wouldn't think much of it. but if i hear about someone who got 2400 on SAT or qualified for the USAMO, I'd be like wow and actually mean it.</p>

<p>The point is, if you know your stuff, you can do it on a test. If you can't, it only means you don't know how to do it.</p>

<p>give 1+1 to those so called bad test takers. I bet they won't get it wrong. What's the difference between doing a question for homework or for a test?</p>

<p>it is just laughable. tell me, if you know your material well, why wouldn't you score in a test? can't take the pressure? then it's not just bad test-taking. it's an inability to perform under pressure. please don't tell me there're many kinds of pressure and you can take some kinds but JUST not the kind that comes during tests.</p>

<p>I think for the most part it's bs, but I'm sure there are a few kids out there who are truly just "poor test-takers."</p>

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^ i dont know who wouldnt prep for the sat or as a matter of fact, any other test.

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I didn't study for any of my standardized tests, and didn't study for 9.5/10 of the tests I took in school. Why? Simply because I did not feel the need to do so-I felt that my time would be better spent on more useful/interesting activities [my scores/grades were fine, so it worked for me. imo, the ACT/SAT/AP tests, school tests, etc. aren't all that difficult. I didn't see the point of test prep (at least for the ACT/SAT), because I thought you were supposed to be tested on what you already know, and not on how well you can spend countless dollars and hours "preparing" for a test that covers topics that should already be in your arsenal of knowlegde.] That may have to change for college, though. :p</p>

<p>Wow Karinasgun, I agree 100% with you. I don't want a guy that breaks down during a standardized test to do surgery on me. I used to think I was a "bad test taker" too, but I got over it by doing too many questions of the type of questions I thought I knew how to do. I found those tiny little errors that I make, and I felt better during tests. This is the kind of prep that works for me, and everyone should try to find their own methods. Now, I know that the "bad test taker" excuse is BS. Like I used to be.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I didn't study for any of my standardized tests, and didn't study for 9.5/10 of the tests I took in school. Why? Simply because I did not feel the need to do so-I felt that my time would be better spent on more useful/interesting activities [my scores/grades were fine, so it worked for me. imo, the ACT/SAT/AP tests, school tests, etc. aren't all that difficult. I didn't see the point of test prep (at least for the ACT/SAT), because I thought you were supposed to be tested on what you already know, and not on how well you can spend countless dollars and hours "preparing" for a test that covers topics that should already be in your arsenal of knowlegde.] That may have to change for college, though.

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<p>so during high school and college, i guess you never studied for any exams, tests, quizzes, etc.</p>

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Wow Karinasgun, I agree 100% with you. I don't want a guy that breaks down during a standardized test to do surgery on me. I used to think I was a "bad test taker" too, but I got over it by doing too many questions of the type of questions I thought I knew how to do. I found those tiny little errors that I make, and I felt better during tests. This is the kind of prep that works for me, and everyone should try to find their own methods. Now, I know that the "bad test taker" excuse is BS. Like I used to be.

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<p>The fact that you changed your methods to better find those tiny little errors you made show that there is a distinction between a good and a bad test taker. You didn't gain any more knowledge, you only became better able to recognize those tiny little errors. I know to claim a distinction because I used to be a bad test taker too but after learning of some techniques and a bit of practice, I got much better. It however did NOT reflect how well I knew the material. For example when I took a practice SAT at my school I got a 1940. After I studied using one of those prep books on my own, I got a 2100 and then a 2140 later on. Before and after prepping for that test, I held the same amount of knowledge, the only thing that changed were my test taking abilities. I skipped the entire math section and skimmed through the reading section while only truly reading the writing section and the section on test taking techniques. If all I did was study the the type of math and vocab on the test without practicing the test taking techniques outlined in the prep book, I really doubt I would have improved at all.</p>

<p>Some people just have trouble focusing for the peroid of time it takes for standardize tests. I have ADD and am not on medication I am a decent student, B+ average (this may sound like blasphemy but a B+ isnt awful), but I cannot stay focused long enough for standardized tests. I always seem to drift off (especially during the math for some reason) and stop taking the test during a practice test I zoned out for 15 minutes. I try to stay focused but it just is a lot more difficult for me. </p>

<p>My point of saying this is some people have extenuating (i believe this is horribly mispelled) circumstances</p>

<p>well look at me for instance.</p>

<p>Im a senior engineering student and my gpa is moderate at best. From 3rd to 12th grade I was a special education student, numerous disabilities which effected my learning. Dyslexia is one of them.</p>

<p>Now since I am and have always dreamed of being a engineer, i need a lot of math. Well math and dyslexia, don't really work to well.</p>

<p>So when I have homework and labs, I have all the time I need to check and recheck my calculations and work.</p>

<p>Now we have a test situation. How am I to be good at tests, if I don't have my normal time to check calculations. Its not that I don't know the material, its that I sometimes mess up a number and thus a calculation.</p>

<p>Does this make me a bad test taker. I think yes. In a situation where I cannot check my work, like a normal student, i am at a disadvantage. </p>

<p>So what do I tell people. Im a bad test taker, instead Im a student with disabilities and these are them.</p>

<p>But if I look at my roommate for 2 years ago. He was premed and pretty good at tests. He played wow all day, never went to class and never even bought the books. Only class he went to was labs, first day and test days. It annoyed me, because he was always there. Well normally somebody who never goes to class and never even reads the material, should do poorly. He was not the case. He did all of this and now after his sophmore year, taking advances junior and senior pre-med classes he still holds a 4.0 gpa. He is due to graduate in 3 years instead of 4 and has a course load of 27 credits a semester.</p>

<p>He is just that good at taking tests, he doesn't even need to know the material, he can just derive answers from the test/questions and the answers. Now he is a good test taker.</p>

<p>and if you cant do that and need to go to class, well then I guess you are a bad test taker.</p>

<p>Oh yeah btw, the first semester he was with me, he was a frosh, and he did study for about 4-5 weeks. Guess what the chemistry he did read, he could recite full paragraphs from the text book, at the end of the school year in April. He read me back a full chapter of chemistry and bio, all from his head. and I chose a random chapter between 1-7.</p>

<p>^there's a kid that lived down the hall from me that was almost exactly like that. he went to class a little more often (every third day, to make sure the class hadn't pulled something on him), but he never read the book, and he played warcraft instead of wow.</p>

<p>what did you roommate do for his english classes where he had essays?</p>

<p>He had taken the English classes in HS.</p>