karinasagun

you know those people who say they are not good test takers? i never believe them. these people usually have good gpa in school and in order to get good gpa you need to be able to do well on tests.

Serafina

Depends on the situation. Sometimes teachers can be so incredibly uncaring about the material they're teaching, that the test that they give the students is practically a whole other thing..a teacher was awarded "Hardest Teacher" due to the insanity of that.

Unless you’re talking about SAT scores, but usually it could be some intense mental block, usually due to the fact that they haven’t discovered their own ways of prepping for it yet. Or maybe I'm just hitting a whole other thing..

karinasagun

i generally mean standardized testing/SAT/ aps, etc. that sort of stuff.

repzolow

I don't believe 90% of those who claim it (sadly, they themselves think they truly do have test-taker anxiety...LOL), but I know the other 10% who do have it and it's frustrating and sad. So yeah, most of the time, I don't believe it.

kwu

It's absolute utter BS.

I know a good number of people who have taken standardized tests blind, due to pragmatism or a socioeconomic situation. They've all scored from the 2000s to high 2200s. The SAT tests--what--seventh grade reading skills and mathematics. Thus, it is a test of the pace and accuracy at and with which one thinks and processes information.

If one is an intelligent human being, one can do well on the SAT.

VeryHappy

There are different kinds of intelligence. Someone with good interpersonal skills and a desire to do well will talk to the teacher, try to understand the assignments, participate in class, and generally do well in the class. That same person doesn't have that opportunity on the standardized tests and so might not do well.

I know someone like that and she's very savvy and "smart" in that regard. But the standardized test stuff is definitely a struggle for her.

Hindoo

I disagree with the original poster's premise. Some people, like my younger daughter, are cold-blooded test-takers. She nearly aced her ACT (35) and scored a 2290 on her only SAT attempt (800 in CR). Her sister, also an excellent student and amazing writer, would get anxious, nervous, and all worked up before tests--then second-guesses herself every step of the way. She ended up with a 32 ACT and 1980 SAT.

*poof*

pshhhhh no, they say they're bad test takers because they can copy assignments off other people but can't do that on a standardized test.

hannah2010

no, they are just making an excuse for why they are dumb.

Hindoo

You guys are pretty harsh!

Maximus001

Some people....Really! Of course some kids are simply better test takers. My S is a superior test taker, my daughter, not so much. She's a deep thinker but slow reader and every bit as bright as my son. The reification of these standardized test #s is ridiculous. Do you really think that a 2200 score reflects a higher level of mental competence than a 2100 score. BTW, my daughter taught herself French an achievement my son envies.

Hindoo

I'm with you, Maximus001!

nontraditional

I think that in many cases people think they have mastered the material better than they actually have, and they reconcile their belief that they know what they're doing with their lower-than-expected scores by deciding they're just not good at test-taking.

I also believe that there are specific skills that are useful on tests, that some people have better skills than others, and that in some cases people who are equally well prepared will get different scores on the same test in large part because they are "better at tests."

When I was in high school I believed that I just had good test-taking skills and that I tended to get better scores than many people who knew the material as well as I did but who had bad test-taking skills. Since then, I've come to the conclusion that in fact I knew the material better than some of those people -- I underestimated how well I knew it and I took the word of people who overestimated how well they knew it -- and that test-taking skills played less of a role than I thought they did.

But I've taught people whose test grades were significantly lower than I would have expected, given my assessment of their abilities in discussions sections, papers, etc.

Maximus001

BTW, Hanna weren't you just admonishing some to respect others opinions? Is it just that you want your opinions respected. Get a grip!

curious77

Also there are disabilities that can cause poor test results in a standardized setting. Some of these may not show up on classroom testing situations and the student may be unaware of the issues.
And how many high school class tests last for 31/2 hours? So the fact a student has a high gpa, does not mean that they are great test takers for purposes of the long SAT and ACT tests.
I have a brilliant friend who failed the bar exam 3 times, despite having all As in law school. It is a different level of pressure.