The article aimed to explore the different the different mistakes that children make when it comes to test making and suggest the various ways that the children can make their test-taking habits better. The author defines various ways in which each learner makes the wrong moves regarding a test. The firsts mistake that the article explains is that the children do not take their time to understand what is needed for them in a specific text, and they only turn to their memories and experiences to get the answer to the questions ( Calkins et al., 1999) . This is one of the major mistakes that most students make during their test-taking. This becomes the case, especially when the excerpt is from a passage that the child has gone through, and they do not take their time to read and understand the excerpt again but refer to the previous knowledge that they have of it. This can be helpful when the child is entirely unable to get an answer for the test. The article further explains that most questions in a test rely on the previous experiences of the learner, but before referring to the memories, the learner should understand the test first to relate to the exact answers that the test requires and then proceed to relate to the past experiences.
While reading the passage, the learner should underline the main points that might be in the questions. The article further suggests that it is vital for the teacher to equip the children with skills on hunting on the things to be keen on while reading the passage by going through the questions first. Therefore, the teachers should set the number of questions that the children's minds can hold as they go through the passage ( Calkins et al., 1999) . The teachers should also teach the children how to fill out the answers roughly in the test booklet before transferring them to the answer booklet. Additionally, the children should learn how to mark the specific parts of the passage to make it easier for them to answer by underlining, circling, or taking down the key points in the margins. In some passage questions, the answers are not to be drawn from the passage itself but the experiences that the child has had in their learning. These kinds of questions rely on the practice that the learners have had before the tests ( Calkins et al., 1999) . Therefore, the learners should be able to relate to their experiences of where they may have encountered the information in that particular question.
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The authors further highlight some strategies for effective test-taking which the children might overlook. The children must be well aware of how to read the questions to understand and not just reading. The children should learn of the different types of questions and how they should be approached differently. As they read the questions., the children should analyze the different versions of the same questions that the teacher could be asking and then come up with different answers to choose the best fitting answer to the question ( Calkins et al., 1999) . Consequently, the learner will not have a prior experience with all the ideas on the questions in the test; therefore, they should be bold enough to risk a choice they find unfamiliar to them if they have chosen the answer after eliminating the possible answers had drafted. Finally, the children should be composed as much as possible during the test day despite the pressure of taking exams.
I believe that the authors capture the key points to be followed by children in ensuring that they develop the proper test-taking habits. I agree that the learners should not just peruse through the questions and the passages but should be more focused on understanding the passage and what is needed of them. The children should differentiate between the questions that entirely rely on the memories of the past experiences and those that rely on them partially, and those that do not rely on the memories.
Reference
Calkins, L., Montgomery, K., & Santman, D. (1999). Helping Children Master the Tricks and Avoid the Traps of Standardized Tests. ERIC Digest.
