How To Study For A Math Test

Study For A Math Test

Before we even begin, I have a confession to make. I actually like math (and before you start asking, no I am not an alien from another planet that is pretending to be human). Throughout my school years, I helped my classmates study math (what a nice guy I am), so you could say I know a thing or two about how to study for a math test.

Before we go any further let me clarify something. Studying math is not that hard (sounds reassuring coming from someone who likes math, right?). The main thing stopping someone from learning more about math is its abstractness.

For example, let’s say you are taking a biology class. And the main theme of today’s lesson is learning about cows (cause why not). When you are learning about cows, you can picture how a cow looks and what it does.

Now, let’s say that your next class is math. And you are learning about quadratic equations.

How are you supposed to imagine quadratic equations in the real world?

For someone who understands how quadratic equations work that might be possible. For someone who heard about them 10 minutes ago? Not so much.

See the difference?

In the first case (learning about cows in biology class), you can already form an image of a cow in your brain. Then you learn more about cows and expand that image.

The case for math is the complete opposite.

You have to learn about quadratic equations before you can make a mental image of it.

While this does make it harder to learn, it doesn’t make it impossible. Now that you understand the big picture, let’s see how you can be better prepared to take that math test that has you so scared.

How to prepare for a math test

When I talk about how to better prepare for a math test, I will assume that you have no idea how to solve any of the problems on your upcoming test. I am doing this because I want you to learn how to make meaningful progress when it comes to solving math problems.

Obviously, I will also assume that you have the basic math knowledge needed to solve these problems. If you don’t understand how basic math works, you won’t be able to do much (sorry to say this).

However, even if that is the case you can still learn those basic skills (when it comes to learning, you are never too late). So even if you think your math career is over before it begins, don’t worry, with enough hard work you will be able to catch up.

Now, that my mini-motivation speech is over, let’s get to learning about how to study for a math test, shall we?

Make it a priority

If you are going to seriously prepare for your upcoming math test, you need to make it a priority. That means that every time you study, the first thing you study will be math. Always. And with no exceptions.

But why, I don’t wanna?

If you leave learning math for later in the day, you will probably (just a wild guess) skip it altogether.

How do I know?

Well, at that point in time, you will need to rely on your willpower to get yourself to study. And, for those who don’t know, I don’t really believe in relying on willpower (probably because I always find a “good” excuse to not do what I say).

To avoid all of the hassle that comes from dealing with willpower, just avoid it completely. When you start your study session, start with math and you won’t have to convince yourself later that you need to study, because you have an important test that, if you fail, will get you kicked out of your house.

Study for a long period of time

Now, that we dealt with that problem, let’s talk about another elephant in the room.

You need to study math as many days as possible.

Preferably every single day, but I don’t want you to hate me, so I won’t suggest that (although if you want to study every day, go ahead). See, unlike any other subject, math tests mainly consist of solving problems.

That means that you can’t start cramming 12 hours before the test and expect to do well (not that you should be cramming for any test, but that is a topic for another day).

If you study math for a longer period of time, you will naturally get better at solving problems. Cramming everything a few days before the test increases your chances of making a small mistake that could make your solution incorrect.

And the last thing you want is to write the wrong answer just because of a small mistake.

If you study for a longer period of time you will naturally make more of those small mistakes. Every time you do, pay attention to that mistake so that you don’t repeat it again. As you solve more problems, you will begin to make less and less mistakes. This, naturally, decreases the chances that you will make a mistake when you take the test.

Trial and error

When you think about trial and error, there is nothing special about it. Pick a math problem, try to solve it, see where you failed and learn from it. That’s pretty much it.

This by itself is already good enough to improve your problem-solving abilities. However, there are still some things you can do to increase your learning speed.

Remember, how I told you that I assume that you don’t know how to solve the problems you are going to have on your upcoming test?

There was a reason for that. When students prepare for a math test, they usually learn how to solve a problem and then practice that over and over. But, through my own experience, I found that it is best that you try to solve the problem by yourself first, and then, when you get stuck, learn how to solve that problem.

If you do this, your brain will remember the mistakes you made, and the likelihood that you will repeat those same mistakes becomes much smaller. To maximize this effect, try everything you can to solve the problem. Even when you think that you have tried everything, spend a little more time and think about other possibilities.

Remember, this only works if you don’t know how to solve a problem. Once you learn how to solve it, you won’t be able to use this strategy anymore (technically, you will be able to use it, it’s just that you won’t get the same results).

Interleaving

Let’s say you decided to study three math problems today. After you learn how to solve these three problems, you try to solve other problems with the same concept in mind. To make sure that you really understand what you just learned, you decide to solve 10 problems for each concept you learned. That means you are going to solve 30 more problems (if you realised that 10+10+10=30, good job).

So, in which order should you solve these 30 problems?

You might think that the order doesn’t matter (and you would be wrong). Most students would just solve problems in this order:

1. Solve 10 problems that are similar to the first concept you are studying about
2. Solve the next 10 problems that are similar to the second concept you are studying about
3. Finally, solve the last 10 problems

While solving problems this way is still better than doing nothing, there is a more efficient way to learn.

By using interleaving.

When you solve these problems, don’t solve 2 problems with the same concept in a row. Solving the problem with the same concept over and over can get repetitive. At some point, your brain will know what to expect, so it won’t be as engaged as it should be, which makes it harder to remember how to solve a problem after some time has passed.

To combat this, you should be switching which type of math problem you are trying to solve. By keeping the brain engaged the whole time, you increase the chances that what you learn stays in your long-term memory for a longer period of time.

Write an explanation next to the mistakes you make

The more math problems you solve while preparing for your upcoming test, the better. The more problems you solve the more mistakes you will make. If you make the same mistake often, then you will remember it and probably (more like hopefully) not repeat it on your test.

But, what about a mistake that you made just once, and never again?

It’s easy to write off that mistake as a one-off thing, but what if the second time you make the same mistake is on the test? To make sure this doesn’t happen, you should track all of the mistakes you make while solving math problems.

Every time you finish solving a problem, check how well you did. If you make a mistake, don’t correct it. Instead, next to it, write what the mistake was. Next to that write a correct solution, so you can learn how to solve the problem.

This way, you easily catch the mistakes you make and can correct them ahead of time. As a bonus, you will be able to go back and look at all of the mistakes you made, while you were preparing for a math test.

A few days before the test, read through all of the mistakes you made. This should be enough to remind you what not to do when you do take your test.

What to do when you are taking a math test

A warning before we begin: If you do not study for a math test this section will be useless to you.

While it is nice that you now know how to study for a math test, you still have to do well to get the grade you want (that is how school works, for anyone who doesn’t know). To increase your chances of getting a better grade, let me share some things you can do while taking a test.

Check your answers X3

When solving a math problem, whether you get the correct answer or not can be decided by the smallest mistakes. For example:

1. You wrote number 11 instead of 14? Too bad, you got the wrong solution.
2. You mistook a minus sign for a plus sign? Another wrong solution.
3. While solving a problem involving percentages, you accidentally increased the price of that expensive-looking bag, even though it clearly states that it was a discount? You guessed it, another wrong solution.

These are just random examples, but make sure that this doesn’t become your reality. Checking your answers just once won’t cut it.

Make sure to do it at least 3 times.

And, make sure that you are focused while checking your answers. If you think “I know I got it right, let me just check the answers because someone told me to”, you won’t find any mistakes. If you properly implement the advice you got from Write an explanation next to the mistakes you make section, you will know what the most common mistakes you make are.

Hard start jump to easy technique

I already talked about this technique in How To Get Ready For A Test – Complete Guide (where you can learn even more about how to prepare for a test).

When you are focused on something your brain is in a focused mode. But when you aren’t thinking about anything in particular, or when you change what you are thinking about, your brain goes into a diffuse mode.

You can use the diffuse mode to help you with math problems. To use it, you need to start with a hard problem (you can start with the hardest question first). Try to solve it. Switch to a different problem when you see that you can’t make any progress.

While you are solving a different, easier problem, your unconscious mind will use the diffuse mode and try to solve the harder problem. After some time passes, return to the harder problem and try to solve it.

The key to using this technique is that you don’t get stuck on one problem and spend all of your time trying to solve it. Because, if you do, you will just be using your focused mode, which is not the point of the technique.

Remember, the name of the technique is hard start jump to easy. The key word being jump and not finish.

If you don’t think this technique will work for you, try it while you study while preparing for a math test. That is the best time to experiment with new staff.

One last piece of advice

Just one last piece of advice. Start practising early. The more problems you solve the better your chances are at getting a good grade. Solving more problems will decrease your chances of making a mistake and increase your confidence.

Don’t forget to apply the advice you read and good luck on your math test (everybody needs a bit of luck).