Test Taking Tactics – Evaluating Answer Choices Answer on the basis of the information given in the question. When answering test questions, you must base your answer solely on the information contained in the test question. The test for a Firefighter requires no previous knowledge of the job. The test questions do not have to reflect the way the job is really done or the actual procedures of the Fire Department. Problems arise when a person who is familiar with procedures of the fire department encounters a test question based on something which contradicts actual practices. It is in this kind of situation which you must ignore actual practices and answer on the basis of what the test question says. For example, you might know that kitchen stove fires are usually extinguished with a portable fire extinguisher; but a test question might describe a stove fire being put out with a fire hose attached to a hydrant. In this kind of test situation, never mind the actual practice; go by the information in the question. Tell yourself the answer to a question before you look at the answer choices. Sometimes the question is too vague for you to anticipate the answer ahead of time. But often the question stem is a question precise enough for you to answer it before you look at the answer choices. For instance, suppose you had studied the diagram of an apartment and then the question asked, "The most direct route from the dining room to the fire escape is...." You should be able to answer this kind of question in your head before you look at the four answer choices. If you answer the question in your head before you look at any of the four answer choices, you are more likely to get the right answer. Remember that part of the test maker's job is to provide three false answers for every correct one. It is a multiple choice test, not a true/false test. A skillful test maker will offer you some false choices which seem pretty good in order to distract you from the correct answer. Among test makers these false choices are called "distracters." But if you have already decided what answer you should be looking for, you will not be distracted so easily by bad answers which might look pretty good and which come before the correct answer. A seductive (A) and a half-true (B) will not prevent you from reaching a correct answer (C) if you know what you are looking for. Sort answers into three categories. As soon as you read a particular answer choice, decide if it is True, False, or Uncertain. If you are quite sure that an answer choice is True, use your pencil to write a "T" in front of that answer choice. But continue to read the other answer choices because you might find another True one and then have to make a final choice. CONTINUED BELOW START YOUR CAREER SEARCH NOW AT FIRE CAREER ASSISTANCE |
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If you are quite sure that an answer choice is False, use your pencil to write an "F" in front of that answer choice. You may find that an answer is False even before you have finished reading the whole answer. Stop reading it as soon as you are sure it is false and mark with an "F".
If you are Uncertain about whether a particular answer choice is correct, use your pencil to put a question mark (?) in front of that answer choice. When you have finished reading all four answer choices, each one should be preceded by a "T" or an "F" or a question mark (?). If there is only one with a "T", that is probably your answer. If you have more than one with a "T", or a "T" and a question mark, you may need to think a bit before choosing your final answer. But you should not have to bother any more with answers you have already given an "F". Courtesy of FirePrep: Don McNea Fire School, 13917 Cleveland, OH 44136 Web: www.fireprep.com Understanding the Test Maker's Tactics As a test taker, you will be more skilled if you know how a test maker thinks. Your test taking strategies must anticipate the test maker's strategies. With multiple choice questions, the problem for the test maker is to create three bad answers for every good answer. To appreciate the test maker's problems and to improve your own ability as a test taker, you should practice making up a few questions yourself. Here is some material to work with. Below is a short reading passage from a Fire Academy training manual, followed by four answer choices. As it appears below, all the answer choices are correct. You should try to come up with some other answer choices which would be wrong, or make some little changes in these answer choices so that they are no longer correct. Sometimes it is necessary to cut holes in the roof or floors of a building to release bottled up heat and smoke. During roof or floor cutting operations, everyone in the vicinity of a saw in operation shall observe, as near as possible and practical, a 20 foot radius Circle of Danger. Only the Officer, the Operator and the Guide Man may enter this circle. All persons directly to the rear of the operating saw blade must be warned away, as the saw may throw debris 20 feet or more. Side pressure or twisting of the blade when operating should be avoided. The saw should never be forced. If too much pressure is applied to the blade, the hazard of blade breakage (carbide tipped) or blade shattering (aluminum oxide or silicon carbide discs) is increased. A blade which breaks or shatters during cutting may cause serious injury to the Operator or others in the area. |
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