You’re in the middle of a test, staring at a question. The way it’s phrased is confusing; the wording seems ambiguous. So you’re not sure how to answer – not because you don’t know the material, but because of how the question is written.
What should you do? Just guess?
No.
You should march up to the teacher’s desk, test in hand, and, politely, ask a question.
Most students are afraid to do this. Or they think it’s not allowed. Some have even tried but been rejected, with the teacher saying, “I can’t help you on the exam.” To avoid this outcome, you must ask your question in a particular way.
Don’t go up and say, “What do you want for this question?” or “What do you mean by this?” The teacher will interpret such questions as an attempt to get help with the content of the exam.
Instead, you must ask your question in such a way that makes it clear that you know the content and you’re not asking for help. You’re asking for clarification.
Open with something like, “I’m having a hard time with the wording of this question,” and then say something like:
- “When the question says ________, do you mean ________ or ________?”
- “I think you’re asking me to do ________, but this word can also mean ________. I know how to do both of those things. Which one are you looking for?”
Or perhaps the photocopy is hard to read. The image you’re supposed to use for this question is small and blurry. The numbers on the graph are faded; the grid lines are all but invisible. In such a case, you should absolutely approach the teacher and get clarity. “Is that a 3 or an 8?” you ask, pointing to a blurry number on the test.
When I was a student, I did this all the time. Usually, the teacher would look carefully at the question, and say, “Oh, I see. I meant ________.” Then, turning to the entire class, “Okay everyone, on number 12, when it says ________ it means ________ not ________.” Sometimes they would go make a note on the whiteboard for future classes.
On the rare occasions when the teacher balked and said, “I can’t help you during the test,” I would respond with, “I’m not asking for help; I know the material. I’m asking you to clarify what the question is really asking for because it could be interpreted in multiple ways.”
Teachers are human too, so they make mistakes. Photocopiers run low on ink. Test questions sometimes contain typos. More often, they’re just written poorly. But you don’t have to be a passive victim of imperfect test questions. You can be proactive and speak up, politely, in such a way that helps you and your classmates.
The post How to Ask Questions During a Test appeared first on Northwest Educational Services.