NES Exam Secrets Test Prep Staff - NES Essential Academic Skills Secrets Study Guide: NES Test Review for the National Evaluation Series Tests

Theres a lot riding on your performance. If you want to acethis test, youre going to need to keep your skills sharp and the material freshin your mind. You need a plan that lets you review everything you need to know whilestill fitting in your schedule. Well break this strategy down into three categories.

Information Organization

Start with the information you already have: the official testoutline. From this, you can make a complete list of all the concepts you need tocover before the test. Organize these concepts into groups that can be studied together,and create a list of any related vocabulary you need to learn so you can brush upon any difficult terms. Youll want to keep this vocabulary list handy once youactually start studying since you may need to add to it along the way.

Time Management

Once you have your set of study concepts, decide how to spreadthem out over the time you have left before the test. Break your study plan intosmall, clear goals so you have a manageable task for each day and know exactly whatyoure doing. Then just focus on one small step at a time. When you manage yourtime this way, you dont need to spend hours at a time studying. Studying a smallblock of content for a short period each day helps you retain information betterand avoid stressing over how much you have left to do. You can relax knowing thatyou have a plan to cover everything in time. In order for this strategy to be effectivethough, you have to start studying early and stick to your schedule. Avoid the exhaustionand futility that comes from last-minute cramming!

Study Environment

The environment you study in has a big impact on your learning.Studying in a coffee shop, while probably more enjoyable, is not likely to be asfruitful as studying in a quiet room. Its important to keep distractions to aminimum. Youre only planning to study for a short block of time, so make the mostof it. Dont pause to check your phone or get up to find a snack. Its alsoimportant to avoid multitasking. Research has consistently shown that multitaskingwill make your studying dramatically less effective. Your study area should alsobe comfortable and well-lit so you dont have the distraction of straining youreyes or sitting on an uncomfortable chair.

The time of day you study is also important. You want to be restedand alert. Dont wait until just before bedtime. Study when youll be most likelyto comprehend and remember. Even better, if you know what time of day your testwill be, set that time aside for study. That way your brain will be used to workingon that subject at that specific time and youll have a better chance of recallinginformation.

Finally, it can be helpful to team up with others who are studyingfor the same test. Your actual studying should be done in as isolated an environmentas possible, but the work of organizing the information and setting up the studyplan can be divided up. In between study sessions, you can discuss with your teammatesthe concepts that youre all studying and quiz each other on the details. Justbe sure that your teammates are as serious about the test as you are. If youfind that your study time is being replaced with social time, you might need tofind a new team.