I remember in elementary and middle school, we were instructed in the ways we can sort of "hack the test." Upon reflection, it was probably meant for us to do better on standardized tests, but for me it became an excuse to not study. Between what I remembered of the material in lecture and outsmarting the multiple choice questions, I managed to coast by without actually learning the material for keeps.
My first memorable experience of "outsmarting the test" was sometime in high school. In order to test out of the required health class, I had to study the textbook over the summer and get a certain grade on the final when I got back to school. I didn't study super hard, but the problem was that I would be tested on contraceptives, and there wasn't any information on them in the book, so I didn't study it. So when I got the test (all multiple choice answers), I looked at which medicines/procedures/products were grouped together for particular questions and eliminate or assert answers on that basis. I didn't get 100% on that test, but I scored higher than needed to opt out of the class.
One of my finals was like that this week. I remembered some things, but not everything, so I looked at similar questions and made choices based on the grouping of their answers. I'm sure I would have bombed a short answer test, but multiple choice saved the day. I don't know my score yet, but I did as well on that test as I could have, considering it was one of the hardest, most confusing classes I've ever taken.
So I thought it was interesting that the skills I was taught way back when have enabled me to look really good on paper until I got to college, when I realized that I didn't actually know how to study and teachers were less pressured to help me succeed individually. It was meant to help me, but foolish me used it as a crutch and an excuse, and the bad combination will continue to cripple me for even more years, until I can learn how to learn for real.
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