Preparing for Tests Ideally it should be love of learning, achievement, and self-improvement that prompts all learning. But the average student is probably motivated by a more tangible, immediate, and pressuring reason—the requirement to take and pass tests.Few high school students are not concerned with the aptitude and achievement tests that they must take to get into college.Even students not planning to attend college will take placement, adaptability, and promotion tests if they are to succeed in their field. Promotion in the armed services does not depend on physical prowess (本领) and length of service. It depends, instead, on the ability to study and pass promotional tests. You need to understand the importance of tests, the best methods of preparation, the common sense required for both a physical and mental approach to them, how to read instructions and questions correctly, and how to answer the way the test or teacher expects you to answer. This is one of the most valuable psychological benefits that can come from your education. Attitude Toward Tests Dr. Francis P. Robinson in his book, Effective Study, poses a question: 'Did you ever thank a teacher for giving a test?'At first glance you are not likely to find much in your thinking that would help inspire a 'yes'. The teacher spends a lot of time preparing the test questions. After you have taken the test, the teacher spends many hours carefully evaluating your paper. Mistakes are marked so that when your paper is returned you can go over them and perhaps write in corrections. Then you will not make the same mistakes again. Test as a Personal Battle Do you, like many of your fellow students, consider the test or examination as a personal battle which the teacher wages in an attempt to defeat you, or do you see it as a contest in which one tries to outwit the other? If this is your attitude towards tests, you probably do one of two things when the teacher returns your paper to you. One, you throw it away without bothering to do more than glance through it to see where points were taken off. Or two, without checking an incomplete answer against the facts as studied, you approach the teacher and demand to know why points were taken off. This is the most negative of approaches. The difference in attitude can be seen in the difference between two questions: 'Why did you take off points on this question?' and'What should I have included that I did not?' Fear of Taking Tests Another attitude that you should avoid is that of fear. Fear of taking tests results in tension and disturbed thinking.These, in turn, produce blind spots (not being able to remember answers that your knew ten minutes before the test) and careless mistakes. This fear also keeps people from venturing into new areas in life. They may visualize the new method, the better tool, or the strong bridge, but they hesitate until someone else realizes their dreams. Fear prevents success on tests and examinations because fear conditions the mind for failure. Students who are afraid start in a state of confusion and disorder. Thus they throw away the advantages they have gotten by preparation. Students who approach tests with fear are almost always characterized by the following: (1) Their grade is considerably lower than their daily recitation grades, sometimes as much as twenty points lower. (2) They complain about the teacher—insufficient explanation, lack of detailed review, etc. (3) They find fault with the test materials—too long, not the type of questions expected and studied for, didn't understand the wording of questions. (4) Their preparation consists of a frantic last-ditch effort. They suffer from loss of sleep almost to the point of total exhaustion, and often loss of important notes or review material just when they are needed most. (5) Fear drives these students to study for the tes