Reading Test-Taking Strategies

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Reading Test-Taking Indicators

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Second language learners employ several different strategies when they read authentic text in English. In a typical ESL classroom settings, the teacher may give the students a reading passage with academic words highlighted. Students answer multiple-choice questions and compare their answers with those of their classmates'. They use strategies of verifying and clarifying to understand new information. Students taking a standardized reading test in English report deducing meaning from context, making inferences, and relying on prior knowledge to decipher word meaning. 

Language teachers have been intrigued by and interested in learning about the second language learners' inner mechanisms as they read and make sense of the author's most important points and supporting details. The following test-taking strategies are known to be effective and can help second language learners become fluent readers:

Students will utilize effective test-taking strategies
Indicators:
  •  Students will read instructions carefully and understand the assignment.
  • Students will skim through a paragraph and identify the main idea.
  • Students will scan a paragraph to find specific supporting details.
  • Students will answer multiple-choice questions through the process of elimination (rule out   the wrong answers first before choosing the one correct answer).
  • Students will rely on their visual and auditory sensory preferences to answer multiple- choice questions.
  • Students will be aware of effective test-taking strategies and use them consciously when performing on exams.
  • Students will employ cognitive strategies to manipulate the test material through reasoning and analysis.
  • Students will employ metacognitive strategies to monitor their mistakes, correct them, and evaluate task success.
  • Students will use compensatory strategies such as determining meaning from context in reading.
  • Students will employ affective strategies such as deep breathing, identifying their mood, and positive self-talk to reduce anxiety.
  • Students will read and comprehend authentic text and write a critical response to it.
These strategies can be instructive for curriculum design and lesson planning. Students will benefit from an explanation of how these test-taking strategies can make them perform well on reading exams that contain multiple-choice questions.  

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