no love for the "bad test taker"

[Jstone123]

i feel that there are very very few bad test takers out there... i'll give a test of simple addition and put the pressure on by offering 1000 dollars to anyone who gets a 100%. I guarantee even those self-proclaimed bad test takers would ace it no problem. saying that your a bad test taker is an easy way out for someone who is reluctant to put in the work necissary to succeed. also, how far can you stretch that? can your bad test taking skills make you a 2.0 student even though you know a 4.0 worth of material?

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[Slowpoke]

for the most part I would agree with you that saying you're a "bad test taker" is a cop out. But I wouldn't be so sure as to label everyone who says that as trying to make excuses. There were services available at my community college for people who they deemed legitimate and were able to take their exams alone in a specified space with no time constraints.

 

[Lccjblu]

i feel that there are very very few bad test takers out there... i'll give a test of simple addition and put the pressure on by offering 1000 dollars to anyone who gets a 100%. I guarantee even those self-proclaimed bad test takers would ace it no problem. saying that your a bad test taker is an easy way out for someone who is reluctant to put in the work necissary to succeed. also, how far can you stretch that? can your bad test taking skills make you a 2.0 student even though you know a 4.0 worth of material?

I think it certainly can. This didn't start until college, but my heart pounds so hard at the start of a test (the my hand was shaking the entire PS section of the MCAT and I felt like i had just drank 5 cups of coffee even though I never/didn't drink coffee... good thing it was computer-based because my bubbles would've been all over the place on the scantron), and I can't think straight when I reach a really hard test question.. it's pretty weird because under normal circumstances I am really good at handling stressful situations and all the people I know think I am the calmest person they know.

Having minor panic attacks doenst allow you to think straight and process information efficiently. Having bad test anxiety could definitely hurt you in school when the only thing your grades are based off of are a couple of tests.

 

[FIREitUP]

i feel that there are very very few bad test takers out there... i'll give a test of simple addition and put the pressure on by offering 1000 dollars to anyone who gets a 100%. I guarantee even those self-proclaimed bad test takers would ace it no problem. saying that your a bad test taker is an easy way out for someone who is reluctant to put in the work necissary to succeed. also, how far can you stretch that? can your bad test taking skills make you a 2.0 student even though you know a 4.0 worth of material?

when i hear bad test taker, I always think of standardized tests...maybe that's just me...

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

 

[Ursa]

i feel that there are very very few bad test takers out there... i'll give a test of simple addition and put the pressure on by offering 1000 dollars to anyone who gets a 100%. I guarantee even those self-proclaimed bad test takers would ace it no problem. saying that your a bad test taker is an easy way out for someone who is reluctant to put in the work necissary to succeed. also, how far can you stretch that? can your bad test taking skills make you a 2.0 student even though you know a 4.0 worth of material?

Your probably a really good writer

I couldn't help myself.

 

[rafflecopter]

i feel that there are very very few bad test takers out there... i'll give a test of simple addition and put the pressure on by offering 1000 dollars to anyone who gets a 100%. I guarantee even those self-proclaimed bad test takers would ace it no problem. saying that your a bad test taker is an easy way out for someone who is reluctant to put in the work necissary to succeed. also, how far can you stretch that? can your bad test taking skills make you a 2.0 student even though you know a 4.0 worth of material?

Seriously though, just because you don't have test anxiety/other test taking issues doesn't mean other people don't.

 

[iniquus]

I disagree. I had a friend who worked really hard and legitimately knew her stuff, but when it came time to take the test, she would never finish on time and would turn red and hyperventilate.

If these students suffer from a stress problem, I would wonder if they could handle the rigor of medical school and of the profession. Who knows?

 

[Ursa]

I disagree. I had a friend who worked really hard and legitimately knew her stuff, but when it came time to take the test, she would never finish on time and would turn red and hyperventilate.

If these students suffer from a stress problem, I would wonder if they could handle the rigor of medical school and of the profession. Who knows?

It's God's "weed out" system!

 

[iniquus]

It's God's "weed out" system!

I guess the world works then...
Unless you happen to be the select few who don't know anything, but are still great test-takers.

 

[duress]

lol, that's silly. surely aspiring doctors-to-be have heard of anxiety and/or learning disorders.

 

[wanderer]

A great test-taker is someone who knows little/not enough about a particular topic and can still get the right answers at a significantly higher than guessing rate. I would say these people are a minority of the population, and most people would never be able to do this. I think it would follow that there are different degrees of test-taking abilities so to say someone who is a poor test-taker is just lazy is incorrect.

 

[STAT EKG]

I guess the world works then...
Unless you happen to be the select few who don't know anything, but are still great test-takers.

^^Testing well, but not knowing anything?

 

[Elpenor]

IMO one certainly can be a good or bad test taker, however, I am very confident that a "poor test taker" can do well on just about any test if they put in the time.

A good test taker can get the correct answer even if they don't have complete mastery of the material.

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[Dial71]

That just sounds like an intelligent person, not necessarily a great test taker. A great test taker to me is someone who allots a proportionate amount of time to each question and is relaxed yet diligent during the exam.

No, perfect testers exist. My roommate is one such savant. Once, he took a practice MCAT on a lark and scored BS 12, PS 11, VR 14. He's a religious studies major and only has HS AP sciences to his credit.

He simply knows how to game multiple choice tests. As he explains, "they're easy, since the answer is on the page." I figure that it also helps that he has eidetic memory.

Despite all this, he has no interest in medicine, go figure!

 

[wanderer]

That just sounds like an intelligent person, not necessarily a great test taker. A great test taker to me is someone who allots a proportionate amount of time to each question and is relaxed yet diligent during the exam.

Maybe its a form of intelligence, but practically speaking I'd refer to someone like that as a great test taker. I think to get a 14 (or perhaps a 13) on the MCAT on any section you need to be a great test taker. No amount of knowledge will suffice without the proper test-taking skills (unless the person just gets really lucky).

 

[coldweatherblue]

you can study all you want but you can never make up for deficits in reading comprehension or inability to perform under pressure.

some people just can't read good or do other things good too. Many people fail tests in medical school which mean that they have to pay $10,000+ to repeat the year and waste a year of their life in the process.. yet they still fail.

 

[BiochemGirlYay]

I feel like I fall into the category of good test-taker when it comes to multiple choice tests. Like, I might not actually know the answer to a question, but I'll always be like "oh, this question refers to that thing we talked about the day before spring break, and that was also the day my teacher wore a red shirt to class, and oh yeah I remember her talking about this answer choice when she was wearing that shirt and oh yeah, now I remember such and such..." And then I derive the correct answer from trivial memories. Yeah.

But timed essays kill me. I NEVER finish on time. So each their own I guess.

 

[littlealex]

some people just can't read good

Obviously these people needs to go to Derek Zoolander's Center For Kids Who Want To Learn To Read Good and Do Other Stuff Good Too.

 

[WingedOx]

^^Testing well, but not knowing anything?

hey now... I resemble that comment!

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

Obviously these people needs to go to Derek Zoolander's Center For Kids Who Want To Learn To Read Good and Do Other Stuff Good Too.

In my rush to quote this line from Zoolander, I almost didn't notice that you already had.

 

[apumic]

No, perfect testers exist. My roommate is one such savant. Once, he took a practice MCAT on a lark and scored BS 12, PS 11, VR 14. He's a religious studies major and only has HS AP sciences to his credit.

He simply knows how to game multiple choice tests. As he explains, "they're easy, since the answer is on the page." I figure that it also helps that he has eidetic memory.

Despite all this, he has no interest in medicine, go figure!

There are certainly people like this. It's probably typically due, though, to an extraordinarily well-developed skill of learning and collecting information. Some people simply learn everything they can. They may not be "interested" in a subject, but upon learning about it, they may still collect a lot of the information and then be extraordinarily effective at synthesizing the information they do not know from the background they have established in the subject area (and related areas) and at quickly integrating their knowledge base. I know I've found I can often figure out difficult science concepts I have not seen before and answer new questions even though I lack the advanced background necessary to be sure of the answer. I may not know whether my answer was "correct" when it turn it in but it typically turns out to be acceptable.

 

[chman]

Obviously these people needs to go to Derek Zoolander's Center For Kids Who Want To Learn To Read Good and Do Other Stuff Good Too.

Of course there are bad test takers! If you think there isn't you need to do some reading up on anxiety and performance.

 

[apumic]

Of course there are bad test takers! If you think there isn't you need to do some reading up on anxiety and performance.

I don't think the question is whether or not poor test takers exist as whether or not being a poor test taker makes you a higher risk for breaking under the constant stress of working in medicine and, first, being a medical student.