Standardized Tests and Step 1, here for "test strategy", not resources

[Robin-jay]

Hello everyone.

I am starting second year, and standardized tests have always been my strong weakness academically "compared" to regular exam taking.

I'm not hear to understand what resources you guys used, but rather what your strategy on the test is.

My MCAT wasn't amazing either (important point here).

What I do during "regular" med school exams is:

I use my "instant microwave brain waves" to go through the questions very quickly, basically on instinct. I flag any questions I'm not sure on.

This maybe only takes 25% on the test allotted for my test.

My second time around is the time I really go through the questions, both flagged and unflagged, and make sure everything looks fine. Answer choices are definitely changed here.

Usually by this point, 50-60% of the time allotted to me is taken up and I'm starting to go through the exam for the third time, going over mostly flagged only questions..

Usually I change very little going through the third time, maybe only even 1-4 questions on an entire exam.


So why am I mentioning this?

Because on standardized tests like Step 1, this type of test taking seems inefficient. I assume once you answer a question, you don't really have itme to go back and change your answer. This worries me because this is NOT how I'm use to taking tests.

So my questions are:

1.) How do you guys take you step 1 test (or any other rigorous standardized test)?

2.) Is my current way of taking the test fine, and what would you say I should do definitely on the step 1 type of standardized test?

Thanks!

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[mehc012]

I go through the question, and figure out what each sentence is trying to contribute as I'm reading. I answer the question in my head before looking at the answer choices. If my answer is there, I do a quick survey of the other choices to try and prove them wrong to myself (this is where I often catch the red herrings). If it's not, I reread the prompt more carefully (this is where I find out I missed a 'not' or something similar). Then I answer it and move on. I don't review any questions or go back, at all. I could if I wanted to; even for Step 1 I finish the block with 50% of time remaining, usually. I just don't find that it helps me at all. I'm just as likely to fall into traps the second time through, and if I don't know something, I won't magically learn it in an hour.

If how you're taking the tests works for you, it's fine. If not, change it up. It's as simple as that.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I go through the question, and figure out what each sentence is trying to contribute as I'm reading. I answer the question in my head before looking at the answer choices. If my answer is there, I do a quick survey of the other choices to try and prove them wrong to myself (this is where I often catch the red herrings). If it's not, I reread the prompt more carefully (this is where I find out I missed a 'not' or something similar). Then I answer it and move on. I don't review any questions or go back, at all. I could if I wanted to; even for Step 1 I finish the block with 50% of time remaining, usually. I just don't find that it helps me at all. I'm just as likely to fall into traps the second time through, and if I don't know something, I won't magically learn it in an hour.

If how you're taking the tests works for you, it's fine. If not, change it up. It's as simple as that.

This was my strategy as well, but I read the question stem first, then looked at the answers, then read the rest of the question to see what details matched the answer choices. I do remember a few times that I could pick the best answer without finishing reading the whole question this way (although I did skim the whole question just in case).

 

[kraskadva]

- How has that strategy worked out for you so far on med school exams?
- Are your school exams NBME questions or professor-written?

Everybody has a different strategy, and so long as *you* feel like you have enough time to do all the questions, then whatever strategy you use is fine.

Personally, I'm generally a one-time-through, no marking, kinda person on school exams and finish early, but for the big standardized ones, I'll mark ones that are complex, confusing, or 50/50, and go back to those with the time I have, then finish with little time to spare.

The biggest pieces of advice I'd give for Step are:
1- read the question stem first, i.e. the last sentence. Then go back to look for necessary info in the setup. There are frequently multi-paragraph setups for 1st order questions, or multiple distractors that can be avoided by knowing what to look for. So reading top down can waste a lot of time.
2- do lots of practice tests during dedicated to get your timing down, if nothing else.

 

[mrbreakfast]

I'm the opposite of you - standardized tests were a major strength - and a former MCAT tutor. Here is the (non-proprietary) method I would recommend you do it:

-First pass = "instant" pass. if you read a question and know the answer, answer it. If you know you will not be able to answer it within 10 seconds, flag it and move on. This should take a little over half your time.

-Second pass = "brain" pass. Just flagged questions. Think about it, and if you cannot answer it in a minute or two, move on. Otherwise, answer and remove flag. This should take half your remaining time.

-Third pass = "stumper" pass. These are the questions you couldn't answer in either of the first two passes. At this point, you are working towards the best educated guess you can. This should take your remaining 20-25% of total time, allowing you to spend potentially several more minutes per question (if you're patient; for me, I always ended early)


Notice the main difference between this strategy and yours: you do not want to review every question. This is because, statistically, I believe the data says you are no more likely to change your answer from incorrect to correct than correct to incorrect. Go with your gut, which in this case is the conscious/subconscious memory bank you used to quickly answer questions in the first pass. Remember that the majority of students do not know every answer and what separates the "good" test-takers from the bad are how well they perform on educated guesses.

 

[Robin-jay]

I go through the question, and figure out what each sentence is trying to contribute as I'm reading. I answer the question in my head before looking at the answer choices. If my answer is there, I do a quick survey of the other choices to try and prove them wrong to myself (this is where I often catch the red herrings). If it's not, I reread the prompt more carefully (this is where I find out I missed a 'not' or something similar). Then I answer it and move on. I don't review any questions or go back, at all. I could if I wanted to; even for Step 1 I finish the block with 50% of time remaining, usually. I just don't find that it helps me at all. I'm just as likely to fall into traps the second time through, and if I don't know something, I won't magically learn it in an hour.

If how you're taking the tests works for you, it's fine. If not, change it up. It's as simple as that.

The problem is that my regular test taking skills won't be useful for the standardized testing format. I can't just go through it quickly, flag stuff, and then review it right? That's what made the MCAT so difficult for me, because it would not abide by my regular test taking skills.

That's what I'm afraid of, that my normal test taking strategy just doesn't apply to medical board formatting.

 

[Robin-jay]

I'm the opposite of you - standardized tests were a major strength - and a former MCAT tutor. Here is the (non-proprietary) method I would recommend you do it:

-First pass = "instant" pass. if you read a question and know the answer, answer it. If you know you will not be able to answer it within 10 seconds, flag it and move on. This should take a little over half your time.

-Second pass = "brain" pass. Just flagged questions. Think about it, and if you cannot answer it in a minute or two, move on. Otherwise, answer and remove flag. This should take half your remaining time.

-Third pass = "stumper" pass. These are the questions you couldn't answer in either of the first two passes. At this point, you are working towards the best educated guess you can. This should take your remaining 20-25% of total time, allowing you to spend potentially several more minutes per question (if you're patient; for me, I always ended early)


Notice the main difference between this strategy and yours: you do not want to review every question. This is because, statistically, I believe the data says you are no more likely to change your answer from incorrect to correct than correct to incorrect. Go with your gut, which in this case is the conscious/subconscious memory bank you used to quickly answer questions in the first pass. Remember that the majority of students do not know every answer and what separates the "good" test-takers from the bad are how well they perform on educated guesses.

I have heard that too, but here is the thing: In the tests I've taken, I answer so instinctively on my first pass that it behooves me to go back, review. and change answers on my second pass around (flagged questions), although its usually maybe one question out of 10. Third pass, maybe 0-4 questions throughout the exam..

I start to get nervous if I don't finish the test quickly, because I like to spend my time mostly reviewing, not answering the question for the first time.

Actually, your first pass, second pass, and third pass are VERY similar to how I take exams. However, I couldn't do that on the MCAT, and I assumed that Step One functions in a way where I can't review? I usually have to just answer the first time and hope its correct? Or do I have enough time to review questions?

 

[deleted939001]

You might consider posting this in the DPM thread so that your peers, who are preparing for the same exam as you, can tell you what they find useful.

 

[kraskadva]

The problem is that my regular test taking skills won't be useful for the standardized testing format. I can't just go through it quickly, flag stuff, and then review it right? That's what made the MCAT so difficult for me, because it would not abide by my regular test taking skills.

That's what I'm afraid of, that my normal test taking strategy just doesn't apply to medical board formatting.

What do you mean? You can flag and review stuff on step...
You can't bounce between sections, but within a section you can totally do that.

 

[kraskadva]

You get 60 min/40 questions

 

[Robin-jay]

- How has that strategy worked out for you so far on med school exams?
- Are your school exams NBME questions or professor-written?

Everybody has a different strategy, and so long as *you* feel like you have enough time to do all the questions, then whatever strategy you use is fine.

Personally, I'm generally a one-time-through, no marking, kinda person on school exams and finish early, but for the big standardized ones, I'll mark ones that are complex, confusing, or 50/50, and go back to those with the time I have, then finish with little time to spare.

The biggest pieces of advice I'd give for Step are:
1- read the question stem first, i.e. the last sentence. Then go back to look for necessary info in the setup. There are frequently multi-paragraph setups for 1st order questions, or multiple distractors that can be avoided by knowing what to look for. So reading top down can waste a lot of time.
2- do lots of practice tests during dedicated to get your timing down, if nothing else.

This strategy has worked "ok" in med school. Mostly B's, some A's in classes. However, I get "C" exams from time to time, but class grade usually ends up "B" or higher.

I'm not sure how questions are written or obtained. I'm just now looking into all that. I have heard professor-written around from different areas.

It's good to know that distractors are good to watch out for.

 

[Robin-jay]

You get 60 min/40 questions

Due to the formatting, would you say that's a lot of time, or a very little amount of time?

 

[kraskadva]

Due to the formatting, would you say that's a lot of time, or a very little amount of time?

For me - felt excessive on practice/school exams, but felt like just enough or barely enough on the real thing.

 

[kraskadva]

This strategy has worked "ok" in med school. Mostly B's, some A's in classes. However, I get "C" exams from time to time, but class grade usually ends up "B" or higher.

I'm not sure how questions are written or obtained. I'm just now looking into all that. I have heard professor-written around from different areas.

It's good to know that distractors are good to watch out for.

Then you'll probaly be fine - grade/score-wise.
Just do enough practice exams to get your timing down before the real thing.

 

[mrbreakfast]

However, I couldn't do that on the MCAT, and I assumed that Step One functions in a way where I can't review? I usually have to just answer the first time and hope its correct? Or do I have enough time to review questions?

You can review on Step 1, as well as the exams which follow that (Step 2, shelves, etc).

Strong performance on an exam relies on several aspects: you must have a grasp of the material, be able to recall it quickly, and not be easily misled. To determine your deficiency, you need to analyze the questions you miss (or, on which you guess, regardless of the result).

Each of these categories can be improved upon. Test-taking strategies such as those discussed in this thread primarily improve performance on the latter two categories. For the first category, and in general, you need to be able to correctly answer a majority of the question upon first glance, and do so relatively quickly. The basis of this is through knowledge.


My general recommendation to you, and every student, is to go over practice tests and determine the reason you missed (or guessed on) each question. Did you simply not know the material? Did the question confuse you or mislead you? Could you have correctly answered if it weren't for the clock? Etc.

tl;dr test-taking strategies will raise you score, but only so much. If you are consistently getting Cs, your issue may not be in test-taking but in studying.

 

[Robin-jay]

You can review on Step 1, as well as the exams which follow that (Step 2, shelves, etc).

Strong performance on an exam relies on several aspects: you must have a grasp of the material, be able to recall it quickly, and not be easily misled. To determine your deficiency, you need to analyze the questions you miss (or, on which you guess, regardless of the result).

Each of these categories can be improved upon. Test-taking strategies such as those discussed in this thread primarily improve performance on the latter two categories. For the first category, and in general, you need to be able to correctly answer a majority of the question upon first glance, and do so relatively quickly. The basis of this is through knowledge.


My general recommendation to you, and every student, is to go over practice tests and determine the reason you missed (or guessed on) each question. Did you simply not know the material? Did the question confuse you or mislead you? Could you have correctly answered if it weren't for the clock? Etc.

tl;dr test-taking strategies will raise you score, but only so much. If you are consistently getting Cs, your issue may not be in test-taking but in studying.

Thanks for the tips! Where are the best places to search for step 1 "strategies", not just the "resources"?

My class grades are never "C"'s, but I do sometimes get "C"s on exams, which lead to earning me a "B" in the class because I really don't score that low.

Having only A's and B's as class grades doesn't really tell you much though, because I've noticed all types of medical schools can grade very differently form one another.

I just don't like standardized tests because I always feel I can't follow my strength, which is reviewing my answers like I can on any other exam.

 

[mistafab]

My strategy is to read the first sentence, last sentence, then see if I can answer the question. If not, I skim the meat of the question for the details I need. If I can’t get the answer or can’t narrow it down then I’ll flag it, select my best choice, and move on.

I only review questions that are flagged on my second pass.

 

[mehc012]

This was my strategy as well, but I read the question stem first, then looked at the answers, then read the rest of the question to see what details matched the answer choices. I do remember a few times that I could pick the best answer without finishing reading the whole question this way (although I did skim the whole question just in case).

I always found that when I read the answers first, I was more easily mislead by the red herrings they drop to try and use the med student word association against you. I'd say for most questions, I have an answer before I look at them, and the cases where it's not there are my cue to slow down and approach the whole question anew because I missed something.

 

[mehc012]

The problem is that my regular test taking skills won't be useful for the standardized testing format. I can't just go through it quickly, flag stuff, and then review it right? That's what made the MCAT so difficult for me, because it would not abide by my regular test taking skills.

That's what I'm afraid of, that my normal test taking strategy just doesn't apply to medical board formatting.

Why? You seem to be making assumptions about what will and won't be possible on Step, and I'm not sure what you're basing it off of.

Get to med school, wait until you start seeing UW/NBME style questions, and if it's not working for you at that point, THEN you can make a post worrying about it. This thread is kind of like asking for advice on what to do when your husband stops taking interest in you, before he even proposes.

 

[deleted939001]

Why? You seem to be making assumptions about what will and won't be possible on Step, and I'm not sure what you're basing it off of.

Get to med school, wait until you start seeing UW/NBME style questions, and if it's not working for you at that point, THEN you can make a post worrying about it. This thread is kind of like asking for advice on what to do when your husband stops taking interest in you, before he even proposes.

He's in pod school

 

[mehc012]

He's in pod school

OK, so then it's like worrying about what to do when your friend's husband stops taking interest in you, while you sit there daydreaming about stealing him away and marrying him yourself.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Step 1: read the actual question to see what exactly they are asking
Step 2: look at the answers to see what they are trying to have me differentiate
Step 3: hunt the appropriate info out of the stem

I did this on just about every practice question and on the real thing. Finished each block with 15 minutes left which was plenty of time to review flagged questions. This routine has become so ingrained in my head while answering questions I've caught myself doing it on stupid little module quizzes and stuff lol

 

[WhereMyLiberalsAt]

OK, so then it's like worrying about what to do when your friend's husband stops taking interest in you, while you sit there daydreaming about stealing him away and marrying him yourself.

“He doesn’t have a horse in this race” is the non-adultery-esque analogy some would go with...

You’re “analogy” was also insanely specific... Like, not an analogy specific.

 

[mehc012]

“He doesn’t have a horse in this race” is the non-adultery-esque analogy some would go with...

You’re “analogy” was also insanely specific... Like, not an analogy specific.

Sure, and putting the cart before the horse. Way less fun that way!
And not sure what you're getting at, but definitely not married and have never even dated, lol.