HOW TO ADDRESS EXAMINATIONS AND GIVE OUT WHAT IS EXPECTED.

What is an examination?
The free encyclopedia defines a test or examination as an assessment intended to measure
a test taker’s knowledge, skills, aptitude, physical fitness or classification in many other
topics.

Before a person or group of person’s are assessed or tested, they should have gone
through some skills learning process or development and the purpose of the examination
is to find out how well they have mastered the knowledge or skills.

These are different types of examinations. Formal and Information Examination. Under
Formal Examination, we have internal and external examination. The West African
Examination Council is an external examining Body that assessed candidates at the pre-
tertiary level.

The various examination conducted are

 Basic Education Certificate Examination
 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (SC/PC)
 Advanced General Business Certificate Examination

These are syllabuses for each examination and students are taught according to them.
Questions are set according to the syllabus.
Why do some students get good grades while others perform poorly though they are
taught by the same teachers?

It is because some students study harder and more consistently than others. It is therefore
important to to improve your study skills.
Effective studying is planned and systematic. The number of hours you spend studying is
less important than the quality and efficiency of your learning strategies.

Improving Studies

These are several ways of improving studying;

 Taking notes in class is vey important, concentrate on what the teacher is saying,
you must listen attentively. An active listener avoids distractions. Be alert and do
not sleep in class. As you listen, ask yourself what the main ideas for a topic are.
Also listen for words that tell you the direction the teacher is taking. Examples are
why, most, important, finally, therefore. As you listen, write down key points. If
you want to write everything, you will lose track of what the teacher is saying and
lose important ideas and points. You will only write everything if the teacher is
dictating.
  As you study, summarize your notes into points and examples. Refer to the
textbooks and add more ideas to your notes. Ask yourself questions and answer
them.

 If you wait for teachers to make their courses interesting, you are missing points.
Interest is a matter of attitude. If you have a mind that a subject is difficult you
will find it uninteresting and it will be difficult to understand and grasp. Approach
your mates and teachers to explain further. What you do not understand.

Study Habits

1. Study in. A quiet place. Your bed is however not the best place to study. The
library or any other quiet place you find suitable is recommended. Avoid to e
following; CD player, Television, friends or anything that will be distractive.

2. Use spaced study sessions. Avoid waiting till the last minute. If you study every
subject consistently, you will not panic when examination is close. Cramming
everything just before the examination will place a big burden and pressure on
your memory. You can have a “blank” memory during the examination.

3. Look for examples that will help you remember your notes quickly and faster.

4. Form small study groups and study together. Avoid those who would not
contribute to the group but are looking for your ideas to add theirs.

5. Test yourself. A great way to improve your grades is to take several practice tests
from the textbooks and study groups or answer past papers before the actual
examination. Studying should therefore include self-testing

6. Time Management. Prepare a personal timetable that covers all the subjects or
courses content. Do not dodge classes. No matter how you see your teachers, they
know more you and you need to learn from them. Avoid friends who will lead you
astray and getting yourself involved in so many extra curricular activities that may
take all your time. Note that the Holy Book says that there is time for everything.
Therefore use your time wisely.

7. Goal Setting. If you have a goal and vision in life it helps you focus on your
studies. Free floating students do not have aim in life, thus all their studies are
affected and it reflects in the grades they obtain.

General test-taking Skills

You will do better on all types of test if you observe the following guidelines
  Read ALL directions and rubrics and ALL questions carefully
 Quickly survey the test and plan before you begin
 Answer easy questions before spending time on more difficult ones
 Be sure to answer all questions that the paper requires
 Use your time wisely. It is important to apportion time to each question

Objective tests require you to recognize a correct answer among wrong ones. Other
strategies that can help you do better on objective tests are;

1. Relate the question to what you know about the topic

2. Read all the choices For each question before you make a decision. The reason is
that if you immediately think “A” is the correct and stop reading you may miss a
better answer.
3. Read rapidly and skip items you are not sure about. You may find “free
information” in later questions that will help you answer difficult items.
4. Eliminate certain alternatives. With a four multiple choice test, you have one
choice in your test, you have one choice in four of guessing right. If you can
eliminate two alternatives, guessing is 50-50.
5. If there is no penalty for guessing, like in the WAEC exams, be sure to answer all
skipped items even if you are not sure of the answer. If you have to guess, don’t
choose the largest answer answer or the letter you have used the least.

Essay Test
Students get poor grades if they lack organization, don’t support their ideas or don’t
directly, answer the question.

1. Read the question carefully. He sure to note key words such as

 When or State: require short precise answer: explanation is not required in
this case
 Why or Explain: require detailed articulated arguments to demonstrate
clear understanding of the purposes and reasons of the issue at stake
 Compare: identify similarities and comment as appropriate
 Contrast: identify differences and comment as appropriate
 Define: specify meaning without explanation
 Discuss: present salient points, mention pros and cons
 Evaluate: make a judgement from available evidence or facts
 Analyze: separate information into components and identify their
characteristics
 Identify: name and characterize
 Illustrate: present clarifying examples or drawings

These words all demand a certain emphasis in your answer

 2. Think about your answer for a few minutes and list the main points you want to
make
 Just write them as the come to mind. Then rearrange the ideas in logical
order and begin writing.
3. Be direct: Make a point and support it, and use simple words and state ideas
clearly
 Remember the examiner has to understand what you are saying in order for
you to earn a mark or some marks
4. Read over your essay for errors in spelling and grammar after you have finished
answering all questions. Try as much as possible to finish about 5-10 minutes
early, so that you can do it.

Don’t give yourself tips. Study everything. If you start early and you do consistent work,
you will be able to achieve it.

Avoid “chewing” pamphlet. Questions and answers. You will be confused if the questions
are not asked in the same way.

You can buy past questions and chief examiner reports. That will tell you the strengths
and weaknesses of candidates, use your time wisely, study hard and you will not be afraid
of any examination, internal or external.

Remember each of us has the brain capacity to utilize and be successful in life. It
however entails diligent work. No one was born to fail in life. If you do your part God
will surely do His.

Don’t cut corners. It will only lead to defeat and frustration.

New examination malpractice has now become moral issue and God is looking for men
and women who realize their God—given potential and work consistently to achieve it.

The WAEC slogan is “You can pass your examination without cheating”

Will you be part of the ambassadors proclaiming the message. The choice is yours.