The Power of Predictions

When taking tough tests, students often read a passage, then read the first question about it, and then go down the list of the multiple choice answers. Since three of the four answer choices are wrong, but there’s more than one right-sounding answer, this approach sets students up for unease and second guessing. We train students to do something else. They should read the passage, read the question, and then not look at the answer choices, but instead, come up with their own prediction for the right answer. Once they have that prediction, they should go to the multiple choices and find the answer that best matches their idea. This approach leads to more right answers and less anxiety.

Zinc Learning Labs grew out of a tutoring and test prep company, and we embed solid test-taking strategies into Zinc Reading programs. Learn more about our “Predictions” strategy here.