You may hear this when speaking with some OREA students: I failed because the questions were tricky! or They’re just trying to trick us! A trick is an intended scheme to deceive. That’s the last thing an exam tester wants to do. Clarity and precision is very important to ensure that the question is reliable. Building effective exam […]

Should you change an answer when going back over questions in an exam? This question was studied in a now famous, often-quoted research study involved 1,561 University of Illinois students taking exams. The researchers tracked eraser marks on the answer sheets (similar to OREA’s scantron cards). Here’s the key results and the odds when changing […]

No question, the clock is important, but don’t let it dominate exam day. There’s plenty of time if you attack things methodically. Here’s our suggestion: briefly review all pages in the exam booklet (if a paper-based exam) or click through the questions (if an electronic exam); check out any formulas, charts, resources, forms, etc; that […]

Everyone gets that feeling. Technically, it’s called an instantaneous reaction made without thought. Here’s the scenario: You’ve stared at an exam question for five minutes and still nothing. It seems that the ‘recall’ button in permanent memory has either gone missing or its battery is running low. You’re faced with this mental battle between two […]

Taking the paper-based exam at one of OREA’s exam centres? Pack: a pen (make sure it’s working and not a new, unused pen which may not work). You’ll need it to initial the exam contract and write the exam oath; sharpened pencil(s) to fill out the scantron answer sheet (think in terms of filling out […]

When taking the paper-based OREA exam, you receive two items: The exam booklet (which has the MCQs) and the scantron sheet (where you mark your answers). The exam booklet is great for mind joggers. There’s lot of space to be creative. You can highlight key facts in questions, jot down your thought process, write reminders, […]

Want to improve your OREA exam odds? Do what you will be doing in the examination room—answering multiple choice questions (MCQs). Beforehand, it’s all about study, study, study and practice, practice, practice! When it comes to practice, we believe in the value of simulation. Simulation is simply imitating what is expected at some future time. Sure, it’s not […]

Don’t make hasty changes when reviewing OREA exam answers. Go through the same thought process. Think out all the angles, just like you did when first answering the question. ​​​​​​​If you rush, you may miss key details that you carefully analyzed the first time around. If you’ve made notes on the exam booklet (or note […]

Don’t get hung up on selecting the absolutely correct answer for every multiple choice question. The fact is that absolutely correct is tough to achieve. Let’s face it, life is full of what if’s, subject to’s and maybe but’s and so is real estate. Also, problems faced in life are not conveniently arranged in four descending options, one of which is correct.However, […]

There’s always lots of chat about outsmarting multiple choice testing. It’s bound to be popular given that millions of people face MCQs for admission to colleges, universities and professional societies, not to mention numerous national and international organizations and companies who rely on standardized tests for job/skills certification. Some MCQ researchers believe that the longest […]