By The Princeton Review
I’ve been using sports analogies for years to talk about tests like the GMAT, GRE, ACT, and the SAT. As a tutor for over 20 years and a previous collegiate athlete, I find so many similarities between both and it has been easier to make my students understand the intricacies of bubble tests and how to approach them. I meet so many prospective test-takers that truly don’t understand standardized test-taking, but most students understand sports.
So if you are ready for the challenge of your entrance exams, there are some similarities that may help you succeed. In my football analogy, great athletes such as Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson not only are talented but they also separate themselves from the pack by having a coherent plan of attack that carries them through their game and preparation.
Game Film
I like to position the GMAT, GRE, ACT, or SAT as an adversary, similar to a sports opponent. You are in a contest to test yourself against this adversary. Would any college or professional team approach a game without viewing game film? The answer is no. They allow coaches and players to observe their adversaries before they meet, analyze their individual and group playing styles and developing strategies and tactics for effectively meeting and addressing the challenges presented by the opponent.
Before you sit for the real exam, take multiple practice exams so you understand the habits and tendencies of the test as well as yourself. Put yourself in a realistic situation by taking full-length exams in the proper format (either paper and pencil or computer adaptive format). Please don’t take an official exam for practice so your scores are reported – take it when you have sufficiently prepared.
Good preparation is like productively viewing and using game film to study your opponent. Not preparing, like not watching game film, puts you at risk: you won’t know what tactics and approaches your adversary uses, and you won’t have a good basis for optimizing your own performance. Further, they’re watching game film of you! And I don’t mean your football opponent, I mean the test developers (ETS, GMAC, ACT)! They spend lots of time and energy writing and pretesting questions so they’ll know exactly how groups of test-takers will respond to them. Their focus is not on you personally, but on the patterns of thousands of test-takers who’ve preceded you so they can predict the performance of the current group of test-takers, which includes you.
Of course, game film can be used effectively, or ineffectively. Those same alternatives are available for test prep. You can go through the motions, not really paying attention, spending time but neither productively analyzing the adversary nor generating your own successful strategies.
Some folks are better at analyzing game film than others, just like some folks are better at prep than others. For those not already adept at prep, there are courses, tutors and other experts available. Make use of them!
Passing, Running, Catching and Hustle
Success on the football field requires key elements such as a comprehensive approach – it’s got to cover every aspect such as learning how to pass, catch, run, kick, and even play defense. Translate this into your exam and you must cover every aspect of it – content (what’s on it), strategy (such as pacing, guessing, process of elimination), and methodology (step-by-step approach to specific questions).
Running and Passing (Offensive Game Plan) the football up and down the field is like pacing, which isone of the ways you can easily improve your score. Sometimes when you run or pass too fast and are out of control, you commit turnovers (basically you are giving the ball away to the other team). The principle is simple: slow down and focus your efforts where your strengths are or where teammates are so you can make the correct and best pass (or block) so you can score more points. Plus avoid the other team’s pressure, blitzes and traps. Turnovers (incorrect answers or skips) can be very costly. By studying game film (practice testing and predictability) and learning how to run your offense (pacing), you will learn how to score more points.
Catching and Throwing the football is similar to your technique for attempting the different kinds of questions. To know if you have good technique is to calculate your completion percentage (how many passes you complete compared to how many you attempt) or how many passes a receiver catches. If your percentages are 40% and 50% respectively, your quarterback and receiver do not have the proper technique (or are not running the plays well). If you fall into this situation, you MUST find or learn a new way to catch and throw because your technique just doesn’t work. Just because you think you are good in math, don’t believe you can answer all the different question types. Peyton throws hundreds of passes a day to his receivers to practice his technique and different throws while the receivers work on catching hundreds of passes and running all the different routes.
Remember if what you are doing is not effective or doesn’t have a proven track record, you shouldn’t trust it or you need to find a new approach. Many players spend a lot of time retooling their game so they can come back better the next season. Just because you are not getting paid to take the exam like a football player, eventually this will lead to your MBA, grad school or college, and then a paying job, so invest the time now.
Hustle is about outworking the players around you. On a test that’s as confusing and mentally demanding as the GMAT, GRE, ACT, or SAT, you must outwork the test. Build up your endurance so you are always ready to hustle.
Now get out on the “test” field and “win” your game.