Knowing what to do to study for finals and starting early make studying for these tests much more manageable.

The biggest problem most students have is that they don’t have any idea how to approach studying for a test. Or they have a vague idea that they will ‘do the review packet’ or ‘look over their notes’. Studying for finals really highlights these students’ lack of skill.

Not to worry though - here is my 3 part framework that I teach my students to study for anything - including finals!

My 3 part framework for studying anything is:

1. Gather your materials so that you have all content that you need to study for that exam in one place. Looking for extra stuff later slows you down.
2. Turn your material into something study-able so that you are able to quiz yourself on the material.
3. Practice each problem or question without any help and then check your answer after each problem. Eliminate problems you got right and go back and practice the wrong ones in the next round. Repeat until there are no problems left.

Here’s are the details and some tips on how to make the most of this process:

1. Gather your materials - This might feel obvious, but if students are going to study effectively they have to have all the information they need to study in one place. Or as I as I say, “It all has to be in my ‘bucket’. If it’s not in the bucket, it won’t get studied. My go to material for finals is all past quizzes and tests for the semester. If the teacher doesn’t give back the tests (lame) then gather all of the review problems or materials for the chapter tests.
2. Turn your material into something that is study-able - What does it mean to make something ‘study-able?’ For something to be study-able it has to have 2 components. First, the material has to be thorough enough to turn into clear questions or problems and then develop thorough and correct answers. Second it has to be in a format where the questions are separate from the answers - meaning you’re practicing by only looking at the the problem or question. This is why chapter tests are great for finals studying - the material is already in a question format and any work can (and should!) be covered up when practicing.
3. Spaced repetition with a focusing cascade - This is where the real magic happens. Students should quiz themselves only using the questions or problems they developed above. The goal is to answer the question or do the problem from memory without looking at notes or getting stuck. We want to get the right answer ‘masterfully’ as I say, checking the solution after each problem. Many problems will be easy. Many more problems will not go well. This is super frustrating but exactly what we want. In each successive round, the job is to figure out how to make the wrong things better and then go back to the questions you missed or made a mistake. Each time we eliminate the problems that now feel easy and focus on the ones that still need work.

Finals prep is SAT/ACT test prep

These same principles apply to any kind of preparation including SAT and ACT prep. While the content on these test is much more limited, it still needs to be mastered. This includes grammar and punctuation rules as well as math facts and skills.

More importantly for students is that finals is a one of the few other ‘high stakes’ test they will take in high school. This gives students the opportunity to prepare not just the content but the way that they will take each test. Focusing on execution is the #1 skill I teach students - to master a test you have to know the stuff and be able to perform it well under pressure. Students can gain insight from their finals prep that directly informs their test prep, if they’re paying attention.

Want personalized help for your student in applying these principles? Click here to register for a free 30 minute consultation. I’ll walk you through my proven frameworks and give you specific strategies to help your student.