As always, I hope that things are going well for you and that you are dominating your NPTE experience. Today is a particularly stressful day as it is exam day for students taking the April exam.
I just wanted to give a few tips for test day that could help you stay calm and dominate the test-taking experience.
- Stay calm. It is so easy to let test anxiety get the best of you on test day. Control your breathing and keep your mind focused on what you do know rather than get stressed out about what you don’t know.
- Keep track of time. For the 5 sections of the exam, you have 1 hour each, so keep an eye on the clock. Don’t get bogged down by a question that you may not be familiar with. Rather, read the question, select your best answer and move on. Only mark the question for further review if you feel like another minute could really help you dissect the question. Otherwise, just move on.
- Take mini-mental breaks as needed. Your eyes can become fatigued with the heavy concentration for 5 hours. Every so often, let your eyes focus on a distant wall for 20 seconds, or close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. This can do wonders for test fatigue.
- Positive affirmations. When you do something right, recognize how good you are and how much you’ve studied. Don’t let the material you don’t know overwhelm you. Just do your best and recognize your great efforts.
Good luck on test day for those taking it today!