Archive for October, 2009

GED: Top 10 strategies to raise your score

Posted by Test Preparation on October 29th, 2009

When it comes to taking the GED (General Education Development), some test-taking skills will do you more good than others. Here are our picks for the top 10 ways to raise your score.

  1. Get to the test center early.
    Make sure you give yourself plenty of extra time to get there.
  2. Listen to the test monitors and follow their instructions carefully.
  3. Read every word of the instructions. Read every word of every question.
  4. Mark your answers by completely darkening the answer space of your choice.
  5. Mark only ONE answer for each question, even if you think that more than one answer is correct. You must choose only one. If you mark more than one answer, the scoring machine will consider you wrong.
  6. If you change your mind, completely erase your initial choice.
    Leave no doubt as to which answer you intend.
  7. Check often to be sure that the question number matches the answer space, that you haven’t skipped a space by mistake.
  8. Stay alert.
    Be careful not to mark a wrong answer just because you weren’t concentrating.
  9. Don’t panic.
    If you cannot finish a part before time is up, don’t worry. Do not let your performance on any part affect your performance on any other part.
  10. Check and recheck, time permitting.
    If you finish a part before time is up, use the remaining time to check that each question is answered in the right space and that there is only one answer for each question. Return to the questions you found difficult and rethink them.
Posted in Strategies, Test Preparation, Tips Tags: No Comments »

Online CAT 2009 Test Preparation

Posted by Test Preparation on October 28th, 2009

CAT has become one of the most competitive exams for preparation to judge the potential of the candidates willing to pursue their career in Business Administration. Ending a three-decade-old paper-pencil format for the Common Admission Test (CAT), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have decided to adopt a computer based model for CAT 2009. The new Computer Based Test (CBT) will be embraced by IIMs across the country - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong, and will give the students the flexibility to select a date convenient to them from a specified period of 10 days. The new system is also expected to help the Institutes of Management cope effectively with the increasing number of candidates every year. While around 95,000 candidates took CAT in 2003, the number rose to about 2,50,000 in 2008, reflecting a phenomenal growth, bringing the administrative system under severe pressure. With the online test, CAT will be similar to the GMAT test in its process.

The CAT will be conducted at Prometric centres across India.

In 2003, CAT question paper had been leaked and this resulted in a retest being held later that year. Computer-Based Test will ensure enhanced security in terms of biometric identification of candidates and video monitoring. Such a format is expected to improve communication between candidates and IIMs in terms of programme information, test delivery, receipt of admit cards and receipt of score reports. However, the nature of study preparation does not depend on whether the CAT is a paper-based or a computer-based test.

Every year, the CAT has changed in some way or the other. This year, the change is with respect to the mode of taking the test. As far as preparing the concepts are concerned, there will not be any change. However, one must go through sufficient online practice to acclimatise oneself with the online testing process. One needs material that will cover basic concepts explained in a friendly manner, CAT application-based questions for practice with explanatory answers and test papers. Also, it is a good idea to check out the material of most of the reputed MBA training institutions.

(more…)

Posted in Activities, Test Preparation, Tests, Tips Tags: No Comments »

Verbal Ability sample SAT test questions

Posted by Test Preparation on October 22nd, 2009
  1. He believed that while there is serious unemployment in our auto industry, we should not ___________ foreign cars.
    (a) build
    (b) repair
    (c) review
    (d) import
    (e) consolidate
  2. How did you get your answer?
    (a) I tried the word from each choice in the blank and came up with the best answer.
    (b) I chose a word from the choices that ’sounded good’ but that I am really not sure is correct.
    (c) I tried to figure out, before looking at the choices, what word would fit into the blank. Then I matched that word with the choices.
    (d) I guessed.
    (e) None of these.
  3. The salesman in that clothing are so _____________ that it is impossible to even look at a garment without being ____________ by their efforts to convince you to purchase.
    (a) offensive … considerate
    (b) persistent … irritated
    (c) extensive … induced
    (d) immune … aided
    (e) intriguing … evaluated
  4. How did you get your answer?
    (a) I tried each choice (two words at a time) in the blanks to see which made for the best sentence.
    (b) I tried to see what words I could come up with for the blanks before looking at the choices.
    (c) I tried the first word from each of the choices in the first blank in the sentence to see which made the most sense. Then I eliminated the choices whose first words didn’t make sense in the sentence. Finally, I tried both words in the remaining choices to further eliminate incorrect choices.
    (d) I guessed.
    (e) None of these.
  5. Many buildings with historical significance are now being ______________ instead of being torn down.
    (a) built
    (b) forgotten
    (c) destroyed
    (d) praised
    (e) repaired
  6. How did you get your answer?
    (a) I tried each of the choices in the blank.
    (b) I tried to find my own word that would fit the blank before looking at the choices. Then I matched one of the choices with my word.
    (c) I looked for a word that meant the opposite of ‘being torn down’.
    (d) I guessed.
    (e) None of these.
  7. Being _______________ person, he insisted at the conference that when he spoke he was not to be interrupted.
    (a) a successful
    (b) a delightful
    (c) a headstrong
    (d) an understanding
    (e) a solitary
  8. How did you get your answer?
    (a) I tried all the choices in the sentence and selected the best one.
    (b) I realized, from the word Being and from the phrase after the comma, that there was a connection between the two parts of the sentence.
    (c) I looked for the most difficult sounding word.
    (d) I guessed.
    (e) None of these.
  9. In spite of the _______________ of her presentation, many people were ______________ with the speaker’s concepts and ideas.
    (a) interest … enthralled
    (b) power … taken
    (c) intensity … shocked
    (d) greatness … gratified
    (e) strength … bored
  10. How did you get your answer?
    (a) I tried both words from each choice in the blanks to see which choice made the sentence sound best.
    (b) I tried the first word from each choice in the first blank of the sentence to eliminate choices. Then I tried both words from the remaining choices to further eliminate choices.
    (c) I realized that the words in spite of would create an opposition or contrast between the two parts of the sentence and therefore looked for words in the choices that were opposites.
    (d) I guessed.
    (e) None of these.
  11. (more…)
Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

Scoring on the SAT

Posted by Test Preparation on October 21st, 2009

Each subject area on the SAT - Math, Writing, and Critical Reading - is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. The three scores are then totaled, for a combined score between 600 and 2,400. The average SAT score is about 500 per section, or 1,500 total.

You’ll receive your score report about two to four weeks after you take the test. It will include your scaled score as well as your percentile rank, which tells you how you performed relative to other people who took the same test. If your score is in the 60th percentile, it means that you scored better than 60 percen of test takers.

One way of thinking of your SAT score is to imagine yourself in a line with 100 other students, all waiting to be seen by an admissions officer. However, the officer can’t see every student - some students won’t make it through the door. If your SAT score is in the 50th percentile, you’d have fifty other kids in front of you in line. Maybe you’ll be seen, maybe not. Wouldn’t it be nice to jump the line? If you can boost your SAT score, even by a couple of points, you move up the line and increase your odds of getting through the door.

Score Choice
Beginning with the March 2009 SAT, you’ll be able to choose which SAT and SAT Subject Test scores you want colleges to see. This is great news! Let’s say that you take the SAT in March and don’t think you did as well as you could have - maybe you had a cold that day - so you take it again in May. This time you do much better. Under the College Board’s standard reporting policy ALL of your scores would be sent to the colleges you’re applying to. With Score Choice, as it’s being called, you can have only your May SAT scores sent. But pay attention: You can specify only the test date you want sent, not the section. (In other words, you can’t have your Math score from March but your Reading and Writing scores from May sent. It’s either all of March, or all of May.) Also, while the change will go into effect beginning with the March 2009 test date, you’ll be allowed to use the new feature retroactively for scores prior to March 2009. So if you have an older SAT score from December that isn’t as good as you’d like, you’ll be able to choose not to send it out to schools.

Score Choice will be optional for students - this means that you have to opt in and actively choose which specific tests you want to send to colleges. If you choose not to use Score Choice, then all of the scores on file for you will automatically be sent when you request score reports be sent to a college you’re applying to.

(more…)

Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

What is the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)?

Posted by Test Preparation on October 15th, 2009

The SAT is a standardized exam that most high school students take before applying for college. Generally, students take the SAT for the first time as high school juniors. If they do very well, they are through. If they want to try to boost their scores, they can take the test a second or even a third time.

The SAT tests you in three areas: reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning. As a result, each time you take the test you get three separate scores: a critical reading score, a writing score, and a math score. Each of these scores will fall somewhere between 200 and 800. For all three tests, the median score is 500: about 50 percent of all students score below 500 and about 50 percent score 500 or above. In talking about their results, students often the three scores and say, “Ron got a 1560,” or “Hermione got a 2400.” (Total scores range from 600 to 2400, with a median of about 1500.)

What is the format of the SAT?
The SAT is a 4-hour plus exam divided into ten sections; but because you should arrive a little early and because time is required to pass out materials, read instructions, collect the test, and give you two 10-minute breaks between sections, you should assume that you will be in the testing room for 4.5 to 5 hours.

Although the SAT contains ten sections, your score will be based on only 9 of them: five 25-minute multiple-choice sections (two math, two critical reading, and one writing skills); two 20-minute multiple-choice sections (one math and one critical reading); one 10-minute multiple-choice section (writing skills); and one 25-minute essay-writing section. The tenth section is an additional 25-minute multiple-choice section that may be on math, critical reading, or writing skills. It is what ETS calls an ‘equating’ section, but most people call it the ‘experimental’ section. ETS uses it to test new questions for use on future exams. However, because this section typically is identical in format to one of the other sections, you have no way of knowing which section is the experimental one, and so you must do your best on all ten sections.

How do I signup to take the SAT test?
Online: Go to www.collegeboard.com
Have available your social security number and/or date of birth.
Pay with a major credit card.
Note: If you are signing up for Sunday testing, or if you have a visual, hearing, or learning disability and plan to sign up for the Services for Students with Disabilities Program, you cannot register online. You must register by mail well in advance.

(more…)

Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

What does the SAT test?

Posted by Test Preparation on October 14th, 2009

Just because the SAT features math & reading problems doesn’t mean that it reflects what you learned in school. You can ace calculus or write like Faulkner and still struggle with the SAT. The test writers say that the test measures ‘reasoning ability’, but actually, all the SAT really measures is how well you take the SAT. It does not reveal how smart or how good a person you are.

Who writes the SAT?
Even though colleges and universities make wide use of the SAT, they’re not the ones who write the test. That’s the job of Educational Testing Service (ETS), a nonprofit company that is in the business of writing tests for college and graduate school admissions, ETS also writes tests for groups as diverse as butchers and professional golfers (who knew?).

ETS is often criticized for the SAT. Many educators have argued that the test does not measure the skills you need for college. In fact, several years ago the University of California, one of the nation’s largest university systems, decided that the SAT didn’t provide enough information for admissions. ETS scrambled to change the test and introduced the current version of the SAT. It’s almost an hour longer than the old SAT and - unlike the old version - tests grammar and includes an essay.

You may be surprised to learn that the people who write SAT test questions are NOT teachers or college professors. The people who write the SAT are professional test writers, not superhuman geniuses. So you can beat them at their own game.

What’s on the SAT?
The SAT runs 3 hours and 45 minutes and is divided into 10 sections. These include:

  • one 25-minute Essay section, requiring you to present your viewpoint on a topic
  • two 25-minute Math sections, containing multiple-choice questions and response questions (called ‘grid-ins’ by many)
  • two 25-minute Critical Reading sections, made up of sentence completions and reading comprehension questions
  • one 25-minute Writing section, containing error identification questions, improving sentences questions, and improving paragraphs questions
  • one 20-minute Math section, including only multiple-choice questions
  • one 20-minute Critical Reading section, again featuring sentence completions and reading comprehension questions
  • one 10-minute Writing section containing only improving sentences questions
  • one 25 minute Experimental section, which may be Writing, Math, or Critical Reading. There’s no way to tell which section is the Experimental, so treat every section as if it will be scored.

(more…)

Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

Some common GMAT questions

Posted by Test Preparation on October 13th, 2009

What is the GMAT?
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized, three-part test delivered in English. The test was designed to help admission officers evaluate how suitable individual applicants are for their graduate business and management programs. It measures basic verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills that a test taker has developed over a long period of time through education & work.

The GMAT test doesn’t measure a person’s knowledge of specific fields of study. Graduate business and management programs enroll people from many different undergraduate and work backgrounds, so rather than test your mastery of any particular subject area, the GMAT test will assess your acquired skills. Your GMAT score will give admission officers a statistically reliable measure of how well you are likely to perform academically in the core curriculum of a graduate business program.

Of course, there are many other qualifications that can help people succeed in business school and in their careers - for instance, job experience, leadership ability, motivation, and interpersonal skills. The GMAT test doesn’t gauge these qualities. That is why your GMAT score is intended to be used as one standard admission criterion among others, more subjective, criteria, such as admissions essays and interviews.

(more…)

Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

GMAT Myths & Facts

Posted by Test Preparation on October 12th, 2009

Myth: If I don’t score in the 90th percentile, I won’t get into any school I choose.
Fact: Very few people get very high scores.

Fewer than 50 of the more than 200,000 people taking the GMAT test each year get a perfect score of 800. Thus, while you may be exceptionally capable, the odds are against your achieving a perfect score. Also, the GMAT test is just one piece of your application packet. Admissions officers use GMAT scores in conjunction with undergraduate records, application essays, interviews, letters of recommendation, and other information when deciding whom to accept into their programs.

Myth: Getting an easier question means I answered the last one wrong.
Fact: Getting an easier question does not necessarily mean you got the previous question wrong.

To ensure that everyone receives the same content, the test selects a specific number of questions of each type. The test may call for your next question to be a relatively hard problem-solving item involving arithmetic operations. But, if there are no more relatively difficult problem-solving items involving arithmetic, you might be given an easier item.

Most people are not skilled at estimating item difficulty, so don’t worry when taking the test or waste valuable time trying to determine the difficulty of the questions you are answering.

Posted in Tests Tags: No Comments »

  • Featured Video

  • eLearning & Online Learning Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

  • Sponsors