True or False:
You should read all the questions before choosing your answer.
True. There are "distractor" answers in there that are meant to trick you.
100
True or False: You should read the questions FIRST before reading the passages.
True. You will know what you are looking for as you read. This will help you go faster on the test.
100
True or False: You should sleep as late as possible to get enough sleep, even if it means you're a little late to the test.
False. Being late on the day of a test will mess you up. Instead, go to bed earlier!
100
True or False: You don't have to make your pencil marks dark or fill in the circles completely. The scoring machine will be able to read whatever marks you make.
False. 17% of wrong answers come from poorly bubbled answer sheets.
100
True or False: Your CST scores will show on your school records.
True. Colleges and some employers will see your CST scores and judge you by them.
200
True or False:
There will often be two "right" answers.
True. But one will be more right than the other.
200
True or False: You are not allowed to write in your test booklets.
False. You should absolutely "read with your pencil." Mark, underline, and annotate passages as you read.
200
True or False: You should drink a lot of caffeine to keep you alert during the test.
False. Caffeine makes you jittery and unfocused.
200
True or False: Always make sure you are bubbling in the correct section of your answer booklet.
True. If you bubble your math questions in the science section, all of your answers will be wrong (unless you get lucky on one or two).
200
True or False: Your CST scores can influence the counselors in deciding what classes you will take next year.
True. Combined with your academic grades, counselors will make decisions about Honors and/or AP placements as well as intervention classes if deemed necessary.
300
You should skip hard questions and come back to them later.
True. Hard questions can eat up all your time. Make a light mark on your answer sheet to show that you intentionally skipped an answer. Come back to these questions later.
300
True or False: When you encounter a new vocabulary word in a passage, you should look for context clues around the word to discover what it means.
True. The passages will often throw a new word at you, and then follow it up with a restatement or definition of the new word.
300
True or False: You should eat a lot of sugary food before a test for energy.
False. Sugars in your body will burn off quickly and result in a "sugar crash." Proteins and whole grains will stay with you longer. Eggs, yogurt, or oatmeal are better choices.
300
True or False: You need a super sharp pencil to bubble correctly.
False. A dull pencil will fill in the circle better and faster. Don't get distracted by a dull pencil.
300
You must complete your CST tests in the time that is allotted on each testing day.
False. CST time is unlimited. You can have extended time to finish your tests.
400
True or False: If you are not sure about an answer, you should leave it blank.
False. Blank answers might mess up your bubbling. Also, there is no penalty for guessing, so you have nothing to lose.
400
True or False: If you don't understand what the directions are telling you to do, you should raise your hand and ask your teacher.
True. Your teacher can re-read instructions to you, but cannot put them in new words for you.
400
If you run out of time before finishing all the questions, you should leave the remaining spaces on your answer sheet blank.
False. You can either guess randomly and hope to get lucky. Or, you can have extended time in the MPR so you can finish your test and get the best score possible.
400
True or False: You should check that you are on the correct answer number on your answer document frequently (every 5 answers or so)
True. Misbubbling results in lower scores.
400
True or False: Your CST scores determine the reputation of your school.
Absolutely true. Schools get a "report card" score called an API score. Scores in the 800's mean the school is phenomenal. NAHS scores have been in the low 700's. . . not great. And we have been going down in recent years rather than up.
500
True or False: You should work as fast as you can so you have time to take a nap before the next section.
False. Seriously?!? You should use every last minute to get the best score possible.
500
True or False: If you don't know a word in a passage, you should raise your hand and ask your teacher.
False. Your teacher cannot explain vocabulary words to you during the test.
500
True or False: Stress makes you forget stuff you already know.
True. Stress cuts off your subconscious mind and that's where MOST of what you know resides.
500
True or False: The CST's don't really matter to you, so you really don't have to try very hard.
False. Your test scores affect many decisions that are made about you and your future.
500
True or False: If I am absent on the day of a CST test, I will get a "zero" for that test.
False. A school needs a return rate of over 98% for its scores to count. If you are absent on a testing day, you will be summoned to take a make up test the following week.