In high school, we all take the SAT and/or ACT. Sometimes, both more than once. As someone who was not particularly known for doing well on tests, I can relate to many bad test taker problems.
You just stare at a random paragraph or chart and the questions that go with it until you finally decide with choice C. You get anxious and begin looking around because you feel so much more behind everyone else. You feel so rushed every time you look at the clock and see there is only 10 minutes left. But mostly, you think about how your entire future could be based off this test.
The test is over. All you can do now is go home and wait for the results that determine where you will be spending your time, effort, and money the next four years. When you finally see those test scores, you feel disappointed with yourself and find the next available date to retake the test. You begin to feel like you aren’t smart enough while your friends are talking about their scores. You let those test scores define you and the type of student you are.
Eventually, you will come to the realization that all you can do is your very best. It doesn’t matter what your friends got, or what you think is a good score. You will soon find out that everything will fall into place. The most important thing you can learn from taking these tests is those scores will lead you exactly where you need to be.
When you come to college for your very first semester, you are probably going to think about how hard all of your classes are going to be and if you are going to be able to do well in them. You begin to think about those test scores and how they proved you aren’t smart enough for these classes. Little do you know, you will make the Dean’s List. I’ll bet those test scores don’t mean a whole lot to you know, huh?
You have just proved to yourself that with hard work and dedication to school, you are smart. You are very capable of being an excellent student. You go to class and pay attention and finally feel like you are learning real information.
You will study and study and ace that exam. You will feel so accomplished. You will feel everything you missed out on before. You might even call your mom because you can hardly contain the excitement. Then, you will ace the next one and begin to believe in yourself again. I’ll bet those scores back in high school couldn’t predict that.
To all the fellow bad test takers out there, do not ever let any score or anyone tell you that you are not good enough. Just because you didn’t do well on a standardized test doesn’t mean you will fail as a student. You might have to try a little bit harder than others, but that is okay. Keep going and prove to yourself that you are not what your test scores say you are.
