How to Use the K-E-E-P Strategy to Prepare for Final Exams

Most students perform poorly on exams because of test anxiety and poor exam preparation. McGraw Hill states that “Test anxiety causes genuine fear that can impact a person’s ability to prepare or perform during the exam itself.” They indicate that students with test anxiety will display a variety of symptoms with differing degrees of severity. Two behavioral symptoms are procrastination before an exam and avoiding exam-related responsibilities.

final exams

K-E-E-P can be a solution to your child’s predicament. Our patient and dedicated tutors effectively use this strategy with our students and achieve amazing results in English, physics, chemistry, biology, and math.

 

K: Keep calm

It is easy for your child to become anxious about a test when overthinking occurs. Your child may wonder if achieving that 90% goal or even passing the test is possible. Too often students cram before a test which can create a lot of anxiety. Ensuring that your son or daughter spreads their study time over several days, takes breaks, gets exercise, and has a good sleep prior to the exam can go a long way to reducing anxiety. Furthermore, having a tutor throughout the course to ensure a strong understanding of the material will help your child not feel overwhelmed. Also, many of our students at Tutors on Call have extra lessons prior to the exam. Confidence is key! Having a tutor will relieve anxiety and boost your son or daughter’s confidence so they can perform well on the exam.

 

E: Evaluate progress

Several assessments are given prior to a final exam. Encourage your child to look carefully at the assessments, note the teacher’s feedback, and find the answers for the questions answered incorrectly. The aim should always be for your child to master the content, not cram for the exam. Learning from mistakes and learning how to answer questions correctly helps this.

Goal setting is also an important aspect of this step. Goals should, however, be related to tracking improvement. For instance, instead of your child saying, “I want to achieve 90% on my next test” he or she should say, “I want to see a 20% improvement in my grade on the next test.” This may mean scoring 70% if the child scored 50% on the last test. That is far from 90% but it shows improvement. Viewing a goal this way can build more enthusiasm toward developing positive study habits.

 

E: Engage with the material

Learning is not static. Sure, there are some concepts that may seem unrelated to real-life situations but there is always something dynamic about the learning process. It is helpful to find activities and projects that bring the concepts to life. Additionally, it’s even more helpful if these activities include problem-solving since having this skill can help students navigate almost any question.

 

P: Practice

Practice is essential for your son or daughter’s success in exams. Studying for a math, physics, chemistry, or biology exam is often tricky. Just completing the homework is not enough. Nowadays, teachers often provide their students with an online resource where the student can access extra worksheets, practice tests, and notes. It is extremely important that these resources are utilized.

Students often do not do well on a math or science test because they run out of time, do not know how to check over their work for careless errors, or have not had enough practice with a variety of questions. Knowing how to complete an equation is not enough. It is important that they are able to complete an equation efficiently and correctly. Their exam is timed so completing timed practice tests are an essential part of preparing for the exam.

 

KEEP: Holding on to success

Exam preparation can be intimidating. The KEEP strategy can help your child gradually overcome test anxiety and better prepare for exams. Final exams are almost here! Hire one of our experienced tutors who will effectively use the KEEP strategy to help your child achieve success.