StudySkills.com by SOAR Study Skills

When I was a student and teachers would say, “Study for your math test!” I would think, “How do I ‘study’ for a math test?” I now realize that ‘study’ is the wrong verb. You really need to ‘practice’ for a math test.

Math tests not only require you to KNOW material, they require you to know HOW TO DO something with that material. This shift requires a shift in your preparation. Unlike other tests, there is no way to prepare for a math test the night before. At that point, you either know the material or you don’t, but there is no faking.

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I recently had an experience (in fact, I’m still floundering my way through it) that made me feel exactly the way I did when I was in fourth grade, learning long division.

Many students are now learning “new math” and are hopefully finding long division a bit more logical than I did as a 9 year-old. Back then, however, we just learned a series of “random” steps that seemed meaningless to me. I was horribly confused and totally overwhelmed. I felt stupid and felt like the end of my world was directly in front of me because I was NEVER going to “get it!” Gallons of tears were shed over my math book that year! (more…)