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Study Skills/ Test Anxiety Materials |
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING THE NET TEST (Includes FAQ)
* How many times can I take the test?
* When should I take the test?
* How is the NET Test Administered?
* What happens at the end of the test?
* What will happen if I pass the test?
* What should I do if I didn’t meet the minimal test scores standards for program entry?
2. THE TEST TAKING PROCESS: YOUR CHANCE TO SHOW OFF
The Nursing Department requires the NET test as an entry requirement into its Associate Degree Nursing Program. A student must meet minimum test scores on the NET test in order to be considered as an acceptable candidate for the Nursing Program. Approximately 50% of first time takers do not obtain satisfactory scores to be admitted into the Nursing Program. Therefore, you must take this test very seriously and consider the following very carefully.
How many times can I take the test?
You can only take the test three times. If your scores are not high enough by the third testing, you will not be admitted to the program.
When should I take the test?
Because there is a three time limit on the test, you should only take it when you have the skills necessary to pass the test. What this means is that you should only consider taking the test if you are eligible to take English 131, College Composition, and Math 080, Beginning Algebra. You might also consider preparing for the exam by purchasing the Study Guide for the NET entitled the HOBET the HELP Entrance Test 2004. It is produced by Education Resource, Inc. of Shawnee Mission, Kansas. It can be purchased through area bookstores.
In addition, two valuable websites are available which explain the NET and provide practice exercises and practice tests. They are www.eriworld.com which is the company's website and http:hfcclab.info/NET.
When you feel you are prepared, sign up for the test when registering for classes or during the semester. The test is listed under Nursing in the College Schedule: NET 100.
How is the NET Test Administered?
It is a computerized test, much like the COMPASS Test given to students when they enter HFCC. The test is timed. The NET is approximately two and one half hours and is divided into seven sections. It measures critical thinking and analysis, math, and reading.
Essential Math Skills: basic math such as
- whole numbers
- fractions
- decimals
- percentages
- ratios
- basic algebra
Reading Comprehension: inferential reading of science related material written on a tenth grade reading level focusing on
- main ideas
- inferences
- central theme
- purpose of author
- predicting outcomes
Reading Rate: determines the number of words per minute read on the test.
Test Taking Skills: determines your writing ability on a (an)
- objective test
- essay test
- standardize test
Stress Level: evaluates your coping ability when dealing with stressors such as
- family life
- social life
- work place
- academics
- time/money
Social Interaction: determines your passive and aggressive interaction attitudes.
Learning Style Inventory: determines your learning styles
- visual
- auditory
- oral
- writing dependent
One must proceed through the test at a steady pace, and there is not an opportunity to change answers.
One can’t use a calculator, and much time is taken during the math section to work out problems in order to find the correct answer. You will be given scratch paper before the start of the test.
What happens at the end of the test?
You will be given your results instantaneously. Therefore, you will know whether you reached the cutoff points to be admissible into the Nursing Program before leaving the test site. After finishing the test, you will be able to leave. Therefore, people will be exiting the test site when others are still taking the exam. People leaving the test site can cause moderate distractions for those still taking the test. If you are easily distracted consider bringing earplugs to lessen the distraction.
What will happen if I pass the test?
You will need to contact Michelle Zeid, Admission Assistant, after 30 days to be placed on the list for admission into the program. You can contact her by email at jmzeid@hfcc.edu or on a walk-in basis at her office on M-W-F from 9 AM to 3 PM in the Assessment Area of the Learning Resource Bldg.
What should I do if I didn’t meet the minimal test scores standards for program entry?
First Failure:
Complete all sections of this website http://hfcclab.info/NET
If you haven’t already used the study guide, get one and review.
If you have already used the study guide, go back through it and pay close attention to the areas of weakness which were shown to you by your first test results.
You should consider attending workshops offered through the Learning Lab. You may also visit the Learning Lab for strategies to help you improve which are provided on an individual basis.
If you are feeling anxious while taking this test, attend Stop Anxiety Workshops offered through the Counseling Division or enroll in one of the two stress management classes that the college offers COUN 114 or HPEA 155.
Second Failure:
You will need to take ENG 083 for a reading deficiency and/or a mathematics course, probably MATH 074 to improve the math deficiency.
Third Failure:
You will not be allowed into the Nursing Program.
By John Carroll, HFCC Counselor who specializes in Test Anxiety
In education, the test becomes the standard by which one measures academic success. Testing provides valuable information to both the student and the instructor. Students can discuss what has been mastered and what still needs to be learned. Instructors can identify what skills a student has obtained and what information needs to be re-taught. Therefore, the value of a test is critical to the learning process, and it’s important to develop a positive attitude toward testing. Both the student and the instructor should be looking forward to test day, but for different reasons. Since testing is vital to the success of a student, let's focus on ways to improve test performance.
As stated above, testing is something you should look forward to. Testing is a time to show off all that you know. If you were going out on an important date, you would do your best to prepare yourself, and your attitude would be upbeat, positive in nature. You would be looking forward to the social engagement and the opportunities it may present.
That’s the same approach and mental mindset you need for testing. During a test, you are doing nothing more than showing off which in this case is to the academic community rather than the social community. The showing off process is identical regardless who is on the receiving end. First, you create a positive attitude. Second, you create a strategy. Third, you prepare. Let's look at each of these as it pertains to testing.
A positive attitude suggests that you want to take a test, meaning that you are motivated towards showing off what you know. The positive attitude can originate from your desire to better yourself and from knowing that education is one of the ways to get ahead in life. Keeping that, as a focus will insure that your attitude remains positive, no matter how difficult a test, a class, or subject matter may be. Knowing that your future is dependent upon producing on a test, gives importance to test taking. If you believe that a test is unimportant, then your motivation will be weak, resulting in a less than positive attitude toward the test. Trying to create a winning test strategy and doing the necessary preparation would be greatly sabotaged without a positive attitude.
Creating a winning test strategy is vital because it will enhance your positive attitude by making you believe that you can successfully take a test. A winning test strategy includes identifying what you are being tested on; analyzing what you already know versus what you still need to learn for the test; knowing the type of test you will take and the time limits; and lastly developing a plan to show off what you know. Without creating a “game plan” your chance of “winning,” or doing well on a test, will be greatly reduced. Whenever the University of Michigan football team takes the field to play a game, it is trying to execute a strategy that was put in place long before the actual game day performance. As a student, you must be the coach, as well as the performer. Your success on test day is largely dependent upon the strategy you have built for yourself. This strategy will lead you through your preparation and take you to the test feeling confident and believing that you will get the results you are seeking.
The test preparation is the practice period that one goes through to be a successful test taker. This means executing the strategy on a timely, and often-repetitive basis, until the subject matter is mastered to the level that will produce the result one wants from a test.
Unfortunately, this means making time commitments to reading, studying, attending class, and even doing practice testing. In other words, test preparation must begin long before the day of an exam. Last minute “cramming” creates panic and leads to test anxiety. Trying to stuff large amounts of material into the brain in a short period of time really does not produce effective learning. Sure you might retain some information, but so often it will be forgotten in a few days. In fact, this type of learning lends itself to experiencing mental blocks during a test. This is when you know you have been exposed to the material, but you don’t have the ability to recall it at test time. Therefore, the actual goal of any successful test preparation program should include adequate time to read and understand material, study material to the point of mastery, attend classes, and even do practice testing, long before the actual test performance.
There are times when a student has a positive attitude, a good strategy, and has adequately prepared for an exam, but fails to meet personal expectations, and sometimes even the expectations of the instructor. When this happens, there is a tendency for the student to study longer and harder to “guarantee” success on test day. More often than not, this type of strategy forces the student to put unnecessary pressure on one’s self, resulting in test anxiety. When a person studies longer and harder, he or she is forcing the learning process to happen. The student is in a “pressing” mode and the tendency to become anxious at test time becomes very real.
Test anxiety is an abnormal emotional reaction to the testing event, and it can be neutralized so that a student can perform well on an exam, as long as there is a desire to show off what one has learned. If you get headaches or get sick the day of a test, or if you have a desire to skip a test or procrastinate studying for one, or if you blank out while taking a test, or if you give up while taking a test, then you probably are suffering from some form of test anxiety. Although there are countless symptoms to test anxiety, this condition can be defined as anything that interferes with your ability to perform up to the standard by which you have prepared. If you suffer from test anxiety, you can experience relief by attending the Stop Test Anxiety program sponsored by John Carroll, a licensed counselor and certified hypnotherapist. This free program will teach you self-hypnosis techniques that will allow you to look forward to taking a test and enable you to show off all that you know.
Posted by Jeff Morford
11/28/2005
Content by John Carroll
Learning Lab Resources