After having taught many years of test preparation classes, I have come to one conclusion: standardized tests are fun, just like doing crossword puzzles, or playing chess, or Trivial Pursuit.
In the last few years, the standardized exams required to enter undergraduate programs in the USA - such as SAT and, in the case of non-native English speakers, TOEFL - have undergone a number of changes to make them better at measuring what they are supposed to be measuring. This is also true of the exams typically required for entrance in graduate programs, such as the GRE and GMAT.
The evolution of these exams has been long and, necessarily, slow, but thanks to technological advances they are more dynamic and varied than they have been in the past.
The TOEFL has, in this century, included speaking sections and more diverse question types than simple multiple choice. The GMAT has recently included an Integrated Reasoning section that requires the test taker to manipulate data on the screen and answer practical questions relating to that data. The GRE has diversified its vocabulary questions and included math questions with multiple answers as well as "user-generated" answers not unlike a similar question type on the SAT.
All this has made it more difficult for the average test-taker to "beat" the test with a simple set of tricks.
However, that doesn't mean the tests cannot be prepared.
There are still a number of standard concepts that are tested, and there is the added advantage that tests such as the GRE and GMAT - whose scores are valid for five years from the date of the exam - can only change so fast. If the exam changes too rapidly then this creates an unfair advantage for those that took the exam a couple of years ago when it was "easier."
The intention of this blog is to present, from time to time, some of the typical concepts and curiosities of these exams, and to provide an accumulation of points and tips for the test-taker who doesn't like test-taking.
One thing to think from the very beginning is that these exams, in their own way, are fun. I cannot count the number of times I have found that the information I have read about in Reading Comprehension texts from TOEFL to GMAT has been useful to me in other areas of my life. Sometimes it meant I was able to follow a conversation I would not have otherwise understood, and others I was able to answer trivia questions as a result of what I had learned from the reading passages.
And the grammar is wonderful! Yes, pedantic sometimes. But anyone who applies the grammar rules tested on these exams to their everyday writing will certainly benefit from clearer expression.
And math... Well, if there ever comes a day when your calculator stops working, it's good to know you can still add and subtract, multiply and divide, even calculate percentages, without assistance.
Try to think of these tests as a new and exciting challenge for your brain, and they become less a barrier to achieving your goals and more a guarantee that your brain will continue to serve you in the future.
