Question: My child studies for a test,
and seems to know the material, but
consistently tests poorly. This happens in
chapter tests, and especially in end of year
achievement tests. What can I do?
Answer: This is truly a puzzling scenario for the parent, and a frustrating one
for the child or teen. When I worked with
those bright, hard-working kids and teens
who consistently tested poorly, I employed
a “Testing Success Program” that anyone
can do at home. It is highly effective, and
so easy to do. This program will train the
child or teen to use both sides of his/her
brain. Most test prep courses use the left
brain (auditory memory with repetition)
for preparation. This method didn’t work
for my bright, creative, but more right
brained students. I taught them how to
store memory in the right side of their
brain. They always improved on their tests
. . . and many times by leaps!
There were three parts to this program:
Right Brain Study Skills, Test Preparation, and Testing Day Strategies.
1. Right Brain Study Skills
College Students
This is a totally different way of studying. The story of Edward Hughes is told
in the book, Use Both Sides of Your Brain
by Tony Buzan. Edward was a seventeen-year-old high school student who decided in his senior year that he wanted
to attend Cambridge University. He went
to his teachers for a reference letter so
he could sit for the entrance exams. Teacher after teacher refused to give him the
reference letter because he was a “B/C”
student. They said that the students they
referred were all “A” students.
Undaunted, Edward decided to pay for
his own entrance exams. Before the ex-
ams, he knew that he needed to study, but
in a different way this time, if he was go-
ing to have success. He gathered his notes
from his History, Economics, Geogra-
phy, and other classes, and made “Picture
Notes” instead of writing out the usual
linear notes. Using this method he had
tremendous success. He was accepted into
Cambridge University. His scores were:
History Grade: A
Rank: Top Student
Science Grade: A
Rank: Top Student
Geography Grade: A
Rank: Top Student
Economics Grade: A
Rank: Top Student Ever
He graduated in three years, played
in three sports, and was a leader in two
school clubs. He said he completed all his
homework in half the time as his peers,
using these unique Right Brain (Picture)
study methods. He said, “I learned how
to use my whole brain.”
Another example of a college student
using this unique method for studying
is Nicole Gates. Nicole is presently a
junior in college, studying Psychology.
She said that her most difficult subject
was Physiological Psychology. She made
the same kind of Picture Notes that Ed-
ward Hughes did. She said that not only
did she pass all her tests easily in this
hard course, but all her roommates also
Ask A
Specialist!
Dianne Craft
Is Your Child A
Poor Test
Taker?
3 Ways to Improve Scores
You can make a huge difference in a student’s life,
by showing him how to study for tests, by using both sides of his brain.
