science

Test preparation

Test preparation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Test preparation rather than just read about it. In short: Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests. Examples of these tests include entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of higher education, such as college (e.g. the SAT and ACT), business school (the GMAT), law school (the LSAT or LNAT…

Key takeaways

Test preparation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Test preparation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Test preparation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests. Examples of these tests include entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of higher education, such as college (e.g. the SAT and ACT), business school (the GMAT), law school (the LSAT or LNAT), medical school (the MCAT, BMAT, UCAT and GAMSAT) and graduate school (the GRE) and qualifying examinations for admission to gifted education programs.

Preparation options There are many resources and services on which students may draw as they prepare for standardized tests, including:

Courses: Many test preparation courses are designed to expose students to the breadth of topics tested on the relevant exam and guide them through the process of studying. Flashcards: Index cards imprinted with information used as a study aid to reinforce memory retention. Mind Maps: Mind maps allow students to visually organize relevant concepts and information, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. Mock exams: Mock examinations help students prepare for the real exams. They are intended to give students a clear indication of the structure and content of the actual exam and experience of examination conditions, whilst also offering them a snapshot of their current performance. Study groups: Studying as group facilitates collaboration and exposes students to different perspectives on the material. Study Guides: Various organizations and individuals produce published materials that students can incorporate into their preparation. Tutors: A tutor is a person with whom students work one-on-one to improve academic performance, in this case on an exam.

Resource providers Most companies and educators that offer test preparation services also offer traditional (hard copy) such as books and printed materials and technology or online-based learning tools, such as content accessible on hand-held devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. So do most test makers, publishers of self-help, instructional and educational materials, and makers of hardware and software.

Test makers ACT, Inc. - publisher of the ACT American Council on Education (ACE) - publisher of the GED test Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) - publisher of the MCAT test College Board - publisher of the SAT test Educational Testing Service (ETS) - publisher of the GRE and TOEFL tests Elsevier - publisher of the HESI exam Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) - publisher of the GMAT Harcourt Assessment - publisher of the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) - publisher of the LSAT test National Restaurant Association - publisher of the ServSafe

Third parties Barron's Educational Series - publisher of books and educational materials CliffsNotes - publisher of study guides The Complete Idiot's Guides - publisher of instructional reference books For Dummies - publisher of instructional/reference books Gary Gruber - educator and author McGraw-Hill - publisher of books and educational materials Peterson's - publisher of books and educational materials SparkNotes - publisher of study guides Study Notes - publisher of study guides Texas Instruments - technology company that offers test-maker approved calculators and a variety of test preparation and test-taking tools NurseNest - a company that provides test preparation for nursing students in Canada/United States

Criticism Some test-preparation programs have been proven to help students improve test scores, but others may have little effect.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Test preparation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Test preparation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Test preparation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Test preparation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Test preparation

In research: Test preparation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Test preparation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Test preparation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Preparedness, School examinations, Standardized tests, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Test preparation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Test preparation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Test preparation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Test preparation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Test preparation in simple terms?

Why does Test preparation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Test preparation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Test preparation.