84 10 SECRETS TO ACING ANY HIGH SCHOOL TEST HOW TO STICK TO YOUR STUDY PLAN Sticking to your study plan may not always be easy, and it will require a commitment. Your success is going to be directly related to the level of commitment you are willing to give. Share your study plan with others. Let your parents, older siblings, or a trusted teacher in on the contract, so that they can help get you back on track if you begin to slip. Again, posting your basic study plan in a place where you can see it every day will help remind you of the commitment you have made to yourself. Some tips that may help to keep your study plan on track include the following: • Always refer to your study plan and attempt to stay on schedule. Stick as close to your plan as possible. If you find that you are con- sistently spending more time on a task or subject than you expected, perhaps you need to reassess your plan. Remember, adjusting your plan is fine: It is a guideline; it is not written in stone. • Practice, practice, practice. Do not try to reinvent the wheel when studying; use old practice tests and class work assignments. Rework past assignment problems and tackle sample problems from the test sponsor. Visit testing websites and practice skills online. • Keep a list of key topics and major concepts. While in class and studying, write down the important items that you need to learn for your exam. • Selectively review your texts. When studying, do not completely reread your textbooks and assigned reading. Skim them, use the notes that you have taken in class, and refer to your lists and index cards containing key topics. This will keep your studying free of mental clutter, allowing you to focus on the important concepts that will most likely be found on high stakes exams. STUDY AEROBICS Avoid procrastination by creating a study incentive plan. Every time you stick to your weekly study schedule, reward yourself with a favorite activity or meal. Helpful Reminders: • Post-It Notes come in an assortment of colors and sizes, which makes them perfect for writing out short To Do lists and notes. Stick them on your computer monitor, TV screen, bedroom door, or in other easily visible places to remind yourself of daily tasks. • Palm Pilots (electronic pocket organizers) work like mini- computers and help keep you organized and on schedule no matter where you are. • Day planners also keep you organized and don’t require batter- ies. Keep one in your backpack and remember to write down important dates and assignments throughout the day. • If you are extremely forgetful, leave yourself an answering machine or voicemail message as a backup reminder. MAKING ADJUSTMENTS Reassess your progress on a regular basis. You will undoubtedly find that your study plan needs a few adjustments here and there. Ask yourself if you reached your goals. If not, where did you fall short and why? Try to assess your plan every week as you move toward test day. The more you assess your plan, the better you will be able to hone it to your actual needs. Here is Janine’s SAT exam study plan. Creating and Implementing a Study Plan 85 February 1 Week 1: Feb. 2– Feb. 8 Saturday Class None None SAT STUDY PLAN VERBAL Take practice exam. Target weakness: criti- cal reading Review reading com- prehension strategies. Start running vocabu- lary list for sentence completions and analogies. JANINE SALAZAR MATH Take practice exam. Target weakness: algebra Review quantitative comparison strategies. Practice quadratic equa- tions and formulas. Review geometry theo- rems from last year. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. 86 10 SECRETS TO ACING ANY HIGH SCHOOL TEST Week 2: Feb. 9– Feb. 15 Week 3: Feb. 16– Feb. 22 Week 4: Feb. 23– March 1 Week 5: March 2– March 8 Week 6: March 9– March 15 Week 7: March 16– March 22 Saturday Class None None None Start Saturday program. 9:30–11:30 A.M. 9:30–11:30 A.M. SAT STUDY PLAN VERBAL Practice main idea and specific detail questions. Create analogy ques- tions from vocab list. Review vocab with Jessica. Practice vocabulary in context questions. Create sentence com- pletions. Create flashcards for Latin roots. Practice inference and reference questions. Review Latin roots flashcards. Practice process of elimination with Jessica. Take practice test. Re-evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Review vocab flash- cards. Practice critical reading questions. Create practice analogy questions with Jessica. Spring Break Create flashcards for common prefixes and suffixes. Review parts of speech (for analogy questions). Create more vocab flashcards. JANINE SALAZAR MATH Practice word problems. Review fractions. Create flashcards for geometry formulas. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Review square roots. Review exponents. Review geometry flash- cards. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Practice quantitative comparison ques- tions. Review factors and multiples. Review probability. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Practice geometry questions. Review order of opera- tions. Create flashcards for math laws. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Take practice test. Reassess plan. No tutor—Spring Break Review math laws flashcards. Review perfect squares. Practice geometry problems. Creating and Implementing a Study Plan 87 Week 8: March 23– March 29 Week 9: March 30– April 5 Week 10: April 6– April 12 Week 11: April 13– April 19 Week 12: April 20– April 26 Saturday Class 9:30–11:30 A.M. 9:30–11:30 A. M. 9:30–11:30 A.M. None Exam Day! SAT STUDY PLAN VERBAL Review flashcards for prefixes and suffixes. Review vocab flash- cards. Practice sentence com- pletion with Jessica. Review common types of analogies. Review antonyms. Practice critical reading questions. Review Latin root flashcards Review all vocab flash- cards. Evaluate study progress with Jessica. Start overall review. Continue overall review and taper all week until test day on Saturday. JANINE SALAZAR MATH Review absolute value. Review decimals and percentages. Review mean, median, and mode. Practice graph and tables problems. Review polynomials. Practice system of equations problems. Review coordinate geometry. Practice word prob- lems. Review ratio and rate problems. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Start overall review. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. Continue overall review and taper all week until test day on Saturday. No tutor. Just the Facts • A personal study plan is a contract you make with yourself to help you succeed on each high stakes test. • You make the important decisions about who, what, when, and where as they apply to your study plan. • Include an adult, teacher, or mentor in your study plan to help pro- vide support. • Refer to Secret #1 for tips on managing your time. . 29 Week 9: March 30– April 5 Week 10 : April 6– April 12 Week 11 : April 13 – April 19 Week 12 : April 20– April 26 Saturday Class 9:30 11 :30 A.M. 9:30 11 :30 A. M. 9:30 11 :30 A.M. None Exam Day! SAT. 5: March 2– March 8 Week 6: March 9– March 15 Week 7: March 16 – March 22 Saturday Class None None None Start Saturday program. 9:30 11 :30 A.M. 9:30 11 :30 A.M. SAT STUDY PLAN VERBAL Practice main. geometry theo- rems from last year. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P.M. 86 10 SECRETS TO ACING ANY HIGH SCHOOL TEST Week 2: Feb. 9– Feb. 15 Week 3: Feb. 16 – Feb. 22 Week 4: Feb. 23– March 1 Week