Top 5 Mistakes Test Takers Make

Do You Have Test Jitters?

Taking a test is usually never fun or easy. We have all experienced the test jitters and the anxiety days before an actual test. And when the day comes, you blank out, and every question is impossible to get right – even though you knew the answers last night!

It is expected to be a little nervous and stressed before a driver’s license or permit test at the DMV. Most of us are.

Knowing the top five mistakes test takers make, you can focus on the right things and eliminate some of this anxiety.

Here are the top five mistakes test takers make:

1. Not Preparing in Time

The main mistake, of course, is not giving preparations for your driving exam enough time. Many students argue that driving rules are common sense and start studying at the last minute. Even though safe driving in many parts boils down to good judgment and common sense, you must also have solid knowledge about the rules of the road. Having a road rules study guide, like your state’s driver handbook or driver’s manual, is necessary.

How much time should you give your preparations? Well, it depends. We all learn differently. If you keep thinking, “What if I haven’t learned everything I need to know?” or “What if the test is too hard?” you aren’t ready yet.

2. Not Using All Material Available

Always start with the official state driver’s manual. DMV bases all test questions on this booklet. In fact, the DMV creates the test to make sure you have read it. There may be several questions on your test that most of us only know the answer to if we have read the manual.

You can easily find online practice tests. Start with the official ones. Explore your state’s manual and the DMV/DPS/DDS homepage. Most have published permit sample tests. It helps if you take many of those permit practice tests simply because repetition is integral to learning. Variation is also essential. By comparing the official DMV sample tests with other online sources, you will find that questions can be asked in many different ways. The variations will speed up your learning and understanding.

3. Not Having a Strategy

Know your material and start studying well ahead of your test. You should also make a time plan and stick to it. Without a strategy and a plan, you may try to cram everything into your head at the last minute.

Don’t compare yourself with others. Some peers may try to convince you that they passed their permit test without studying. Well, maybe they did, but usually it isn’t true. Stick to your plan.

4. Ignoring Mistakes on Practice Tests

There is one bad thing about online practice tests. Students sometimes review the questions too quickly, focusing on the final score.

If you answer a question incorrectly, reread it. Most of the time, you needed to read the question or the answer more carefully. Learn something from it. You don’t want this to happen on your written DMV permit test. Meaning, always take your time to read everything twice. Treat an online practice test the same way you would treat a real test. It will make you a more effective test taker.

If you disagree with the answer on a permit practice test, compare the explanation given with the information in your driver handbook. Focus on understanding and learning.

5. Memorizing Instead of Understanding

If you try to simply memorize answers, you commit the most serious mistake. Memorizing answers, like phrases and numbers, may seem like a simple path to success, but it isn’t.

If you want to learn and understand, you must read and think critically, recognizing the complexity of driving and sharing the road with others. The danger of simply memorizing phrases is that we don’t get the whole picture and take in ideas and thoughts that spring from our own, and perhaps, others experiences. Sometimes, we translate these ideas into general concepts that we believe are the truth.

The following question may serve as an example:

True or false? It is always illegal to use a cell phone while driving.

Typically, two out of three test takers answer that it is always illegal, even though no state in the United States prohibits all cell phone use while driving.

Their wrong answers are not the result of a trick question but the need for more critical reading and understanding. Since we know that we shouldn’t use a cell phone while driving and since laws restrict the use in many ways, we expect the answer to be negative (saying no), and perhaps we want it to, if we think it is always wrong to talk on a phone while driving.

Again, focus on critical reading on your DMV practice tests. The more knowledge you have, the less mistakes you will make.

Learn More about Test Anxiety

You can learn more about test anxiety here.

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