Test taking skills

[GangaMaster]

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I never understood what people meant that they don't have a deficiency in knowledge of test material it is their test taking skills...

How can you have good knowledge of the material and have a deficiency in test taking skills. I mean it asks you a question, you either know the answer or you don't?

 

[Shjanzey]

Weak people always need an excuse for why they fail.

 

[Brain Bucket]

I never understood what people meant that they don't have a deficiency in knowledge of test material it is their test taking skills...

How can you have good knowledge of the material and have a deficiency in test taking skills. I mean it asks you a question, you either know the answer or you don't?

From what I've been given to understand, they tend to fall into two categories. The first just build up to and then wig out under high pressure.

The second - far more common - have trouble interpreting the question, i.e. they don't exactly know what the person writing the question is asking for if it's even remotely vague. It's what differentiates those of us who scored 14-15 on VR from you. 😉

 

[yehhhboiii]

time limit can have an effect
it's not easy when you only have 75 seconds to read a question, figure out what they're asking and then figure out how the answer to the question is related to one of the answer choices
when i took the pcat, i ran out of time on the chemistry section and even though i still did okay, it was my worst section by far despite the fact that it was my best in school

 

[evilbooyaa]

I never understood what people meant that they don't have a deficiency in knowledge of test material it is their test taking skills...

How can you have good knowledge of the material and have a deficiency in test taking skills. I mean it asks you a question, you either know the answer or you don't?

Because if you ask someone about a topic, they can likely give you a couple sentences discussing it. However, when you distill it down to a multiple choice question with multiple answers that sound similar or combinations of 'A & B, A&C, All of the above' etc. etc., it makes it more difficult.

I could explain to you how the heart works pretty well, but there's no way I would pass the cardio exam from MS2 again.

 

[GangaMaster]

Because if you ask someone about a topic, they can likely give you a couple sentences discussing it. However, when you distill it down to a multiple choice question with multiple answers that sound similar or combinations of 'A & B, A&C, All of the above' etc. etc., it makes it more difficult.

This distillation, in essence, tests out if you can pin point the information down and tests your accuracy of knowledge of the material because the wrong choices will not be in part of those few sentences you would take to discuss the topic.

 

[yehhhboiii]

well no **** but what are you going to do when there's no right answer
sometimes there are more than one correct answer but you have to figure out which one is the "best" answer

 

[GangaMaster]

well no **** but what are you going to do when there's no right answer
sometimes there are more than one correct answer but you have to figure out which one is the "best" answer

There is a right answer, the best one that pertains to the question.

 

[CodeRedDew]

From what I've been given to understand, they tend to fall into two categories. The first just build up to and then wig out under high pressure.

The second - far more common - have trouble interpreting the question, i.e. they don't exactly know what the person writing the question is asking for if it's even remotely vague. It's what differentiates those of us who scored 14-15 on VR from you. 😉

Don't know if you were trying to be sarcastic here, but in my opinion, the way VR is tested on the MCAT is of little correlation to the way you interpret scientific questions. I scored in the 30th percentile in that section (go figure); however, I am at the top of my medical school class. Though I agree with you that people who have a hard(er) time interpreting what the question is asking will not do as well as someone who understands exactly what the question stem is trying to extract; scoring incredibly high on the verbal section of the MCAT is of little support to that differentiation.

If you were being sarcastic, please ignore this post lol 😛

 

[Brain Bucket]

Don't know if you were trying to be sarcastic here, but in my opinion, the way VR is tested on the MCAT is of little correlation to the way you interpret scientific questions.

It tests comprehension, which is universal.

I scored in the 30th percentile in that section (go figure); however, I am at the top of my medical school class.

n = 1. I don't believe that you tried your best, scored in the 30th percentile on VR (60% of the people who ATTEMPTED VR did better than you?) and are now topping your class. Gonna need screenies for that ****.

Though I agree with you that people who have a hard(er) time interpreting what the question is asking will not do as well as someone who understands exactly what the question stem is trying to extract; scoring incredibly high on the verbal section of the MCAT is of little support to that differentiation.

That's what any test tests by default and what VR appears to be built to specifically test.

If you were being sarcastic, please ignore this post lol 😛

This is a troll thread. My post was meant to troll the OP, but he didn't bite.

 

[pdxhopeful]

It's rarer than people think, but it does happen. As another commenter said some people get so nervous their recall is affected, or they second-guess themselves and wind up changing correct answers. The other part is interpreting the question and keeping track of relevant info. My first test or two I stupidly missed questions where I knew the material because certain things didn't register in my brain (that it was asking about skeletal, not smooth muscle, say). Came up with a procedure to get myself to slow down and be more thorough, and it's served me well.

 

[cbrons]

I sometimes overthink questions.

 

[CodeRedDew]

It tests comprehension, which is universal.

Comprehension of scientific material is completely different than comprehension of Immanuel Kant's views on metaphysical entities. At least it is for me, which is why I scored so poorly in that section. (~98th percentile in PS; ~94th percentile in BS)

n = 1. I don't believe that you tried your best, scored in the 30th percentile on VR (60% of the people who ATTEMPTED VR did better than you?) and are now topping your class. Gonna need screenies for that ****.

I definitely tried my best and gave it my 100%. However, it didn't hit me as a complete surprise when I saw my score, because my VR score fluctuated the entire time I was taking practice test (low of 6, high of 12). So I just hoped for the best on test day.

 

[Jemeni]

It tests comprehension, which is universal.

This is truth right here. There are definitely certain strategies one can learn to improve their performance in this section, as well as get lots of practice in the format/approaching passages. But it's taking your ability to see and synthesize new information and then apply it in a short amount of time.... aka comprehension.

I started strong in VR early on in my studying and just kinda stayed that way.

 

[TOcho118]

I think the answer to the OP's question, especially in med school, lies in one's ability to answer secondary and tertiary level questions as opposed to straight up recall of facts. These types of questions require an ability to make connections that go beyond simply how much does someone know.

For example, you might know the mechanism of CF and that it causes decreased absorption of fat soluble vitamins, the fat soluble vitamins are A,D,E,K, and decreased vit. D leads to rickets, etc. You would get all those questions right if they were asked individually. However, most med school exams and definitely Step 1 will give you a scenario of a kid with some symptoms of CF including say mucosal bleeding (vit k deficiency) and ask what the etiology of his bleeding is. You now have to recognize that the kid in the vignette has CF, understand how there is decreased fat soluble vitamin absorption, know that vit. K is one of those vitamins and that vit. K deficiency leads to bleeding problems in order to get the question right.

You may recognize right off the bat that this is CF, but if you can't make those next logical leaps then you will be wondering WTF does bleeding have to do with CF?

Just a thought...

 

[Elisabeth Kate]

Your med school is far different from mine if it comes down to "you either know the answer or you don't". Give me an essay question on the test and I'll be fine, but when you give me a vague question with 10 multiple choice answers, of which 7 are right, but 4 are more right, and one is the only right answer that counts, I could very well get it wrong.

There's an art to multiple choice test-taking. People repeated this over and over when I was studying for the MCAT. They said that if you do enough practice tests, you'll get to know what they're getting at with the question they're asking. The same can be said for med school exams and boards. It very rarely is the choice between three obviously wrong answers and one right answer. Some are better at picking out that right answer than others. That's why test-review companies make a fortune on teaching test-taking skills.

 

[Wordead]

Bah, there is no such thing as test taking skills, only people who didn't grasp the material and are mislead by distractors in the question. You damn babies.

 

[Kaputt]

Med students who bring up the MCAT as a point of pride clearly peaked early in their academic careers.

 

[wonderdog]

Bah, there is no such thing as test taking skills, only people who didn't grasp the material and are mislead by distractors in the question. You damn babies.

Calm down. <pats Wordead's back>. Their, There, They're, it'll be ok 🙂