WHAT TO DO!

Day of the Event

When you are actually in the room taking the exam there are some very important things to consider as you work through the task:

• Read the Directions including the rubric (once, twice, its worth the time) Your proctor may even give a reading period and you need to use it.
• Identify the problems that may take longer and also the problems that you can solve quickly. You do not have to create your graph and data table before the questions. These questions are generally half your score and may be much easier to find and possibly even lead you to find the major data for your graph. This is why you should read the rubric if its provided and know the point scale…sometimes you can even get points for a blank graph that has an appropriate title.
• Don’t Panic and get as many points as you can in the time allotted. If you have practiced searching for data and know excel you will do fine.
• if a search isn’t working change the terms…a good rule of thumb was that if there was nothing in the first three results, move on with new search terms.
• Use your partner, because the person sitting next to you can think of new search terms, write down data to be transferred, etc. Your partner can also be especially useful in reading directions and making sure you didn’t miss anything (this is key for graphs–as the proctor may want data in alphabetical order or something that is not always typical)
• Know your partner and work well with them having an enemy as a partner is not going to be helpful
• Read everything on the exam sheet make sure you do not forget to put on data labels or put it in alphabetical order or specific font types and formating your answer sheet. This especially applies to the graph portion of the test. You do not want to lose points for stuff that if you read the exam could have been done quickly and easily.

Make sure your partner reads over EVERYTHING that you have entered into the data table, the graph, and the short answer questions. Keep working, even up to the last second. Use the tiebreaker (graphical appeal) to your advantage.