When was your last in-person exam?
I had my first in-person exam during 21X, after five quarters of remote learning. Needless to say, it was an experience. Here are five practices that made my in-person exam experience as painless as possible.
- Study with physical material.
For example, if you have a PDF of a practice exam and reference sheets, print them out, and try to do the exam within the time limit that your professor will give you for the actual exam.
- Try to recreate the conditions of your testing environment while you study.
If you know the classroom your exam will be in, see if there’s a time when it’s empty and unlocked. If there is, then the classroom makes an excellent place to do practice questions.
- Even if the exam is open-book, do your best to remember the material without referencing your notes.
Switching between tabs and using the finder command on your computer is a lot easier than flipping through sheets of paper to find your relevant notes. If you know the material by heart, you’ll do better with time management on your exam.
- Go to office hours.
Ask your professor for help with material you want to be more comfortable with. If you’re nervous about taking the exam in-person for the first time, ask your professor if they have any suggestions that will help you succeed on their exam.
- Create practice questions for yourself.
The best way to learn material is to practice information retrieval. Ask yourself questions and try to answer them without looking at your notes. Spend more time quizzing yourself than rereading your textbook or notes.
Good luck on your exams this fall!