Whether Wayland High School students are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) classes, college prep level classes or anything in between, many students find tests to be overwhelming.

In order for students to go into their tests prepared, some WHS students decided to share some tips about tackling the studying process for certain tests.

“A lot of the time when I’m studying, I’ll work with friends,” senior Allie Chase said. “I find it helpful to bounce ideas off each other and use our combined knowledge to solve problems.”

Several WHS students have found that a good studying method involves conferring with a classmate or friend. However, some WHS students have a tendency to rely too heavily on their friends’ knowledge, which they won’t have access to mid-test.

“The first thing I do [when studying] is go back and review all of my notes,” junior Katie Pralle said. “I make sure I understand everything on my notes and know all of the equations and what the different units are. Then I go over all of the homework and classwork assignments and do all of those to make sure I can get them all right. If not, I go back to my notes and do it again.”

Using the resources teachers provide students with is something that some students find useful. Although for some students, reviewing past homework and classwork assignments is fairly common, other students wouldn’t think about going to websites, like Delta Math, that have been provided in class to review additional problems.

“It’s really helpful to review my past Delta Math assignments, or any classwork we’ve been assigned,” sophomore Maeve Moran said. “A lot of the time I’ll also retry past homework assignments so I know everything that will be on the test.”

For some students, an issue they have with tests is not the concept itself, but being able to get all of the information needed out on paper in time. When students are in a rush to get everything written down, it can be easier to make mistakes and panic, causing them to forget things they know.

“Generally where people struggle on tests is being able to do it fast,” Pralle said. “So when you’re studying and doing practice problems, set a timer. This will make you more stressed, but ultimately it will be better when you actually take the test. Don’t do your homework as if you have [unlimited] time, but try to do it as quickly as possible because that will prepare you [for] finishing [tests] with time to check over your answers.”

Sometimes students are scheduled to have a test directly after a free period or study hall. Although it is highly recommended that students complete other preparations leading up to the test, it might be favorable to designate time during free periods or study halls to review the material that will be on the test.

“Cramming before a test works really well for me,” Chase said. “Anytime I can, I’ll study for a block or two before my tests, which makes them much easier.”

Some WHS students believe it is helpful to organize the information that they need to know for the test into sections. Students can separate their notes into categories of things that are most likely to show up often on the test, as well as things that they are really struggling with. If students are in a time crunch, it most likely won’t be beneficial to spend time reviewing material that will not be a large part of the test, or material that they feel confident with.

“Sometimes instead of studying late into the night I’ll spend my lunch in the media center or spend classes prior to the test reviewing my notes,” sophomore Maeve Moran said. “If I really need to, I’ll review [material] on the bus ride to school, but I try not to study too late into the night.”

Even if students feel that they won’t have enough time to finish studying, some studies show that staying up late into the night studying can do more harm than good.

“One big piece of advice, don’t stay up studying too much,” Pralle said. “Sleep is ultimately more important. If you don’t have a lot of sleep you’re not gonna do as well. If it’s nearing too late, just go to sleep, it’s the best thing you can do.”