6 Ways to Boost Your Test-Taking Skills for the Contractor Licensing Exam

A man, with a contractor license, sitting at a table with an open book in front of him.

As any test preparation business will tell you, knowing the subject and being able to perform well on the test can be two completely different things. Use these tips to revisit your test-taking skills and see if you can sharpen your focus, quell exam panic and do even better than you expected.

  1. Study Regularly and Avoid Cramming

Some people prefer to push their studying all the way to the end, but this often isn’t the best way to retain information. Preparing for the contractor licensing exam might take weeks or months, and you may worry that you’ll forget a lot of what you learned at the beginning. Set a regular pace for your studying, and be sure to allow time to review earlier concepts and cement your understanding. In the last week before the exam, you can focus on testing your knowledge in a relaxed setting, instead of trying to cram in all the information.

  1. Try Some Memory Aids

Of course, effective study means that you have to understand what you are reading and be able to bring it back to mind. Industry jargon often relies on a large number of acronyms, which can read like alphabet soup as you study. Some terms may be easy for you to remember or spell out in your head, while others could evade you. Consider adding some common tricks to help you remember. For example, mnemonic devices are tools that help you recall a combination of words in a particular order. You might create a sentence full of words that start with the same letters, in the correct placement.

  1. Address Test Anxiety

The last thing you want to do is panic when you reach a difficult question and shut down for the rest of the exam. Although many people wouldn’t admit to having test anxiety, it is a very common problem for all kinds of professionals. To combat anxiety from ruining your test day, bypass it with routines, such as:

With a little extra practice, you might discover that the test isn’t as worrisome as you thought.

  1. Consider the Answer

Questions with open answers can be frightening for people who don’t know what to put. Multiple-choice tests could be just as confusing. Experts suggest taking two approaches to providing answers on tests with multiple options. The first is to try to think of the answer before you look at the selections. That will help you sort out the range for the correct choice. Second, use the process of elimination to cut out answers that are obviously wrong. If you aren’t sure how to answer the question but you have an idea, you may be able to limit your choices.

  1. Check Twice, Submit Once

There’s an old adage in construction that if you measure twice, you only need to cut once. Taking a test calls for a similar approach. You might be surprised how many answers people miss, even when they knew the correct choice. They just marked the wrong one and didn’t take the time to confirm what they selected. Computer-based systems are designed to grade and score your exam more or less immediately, which leaves little opportunity to go back and revisit the answers you put in on previous sections. Give yourself the space to double-check on each answer, and you’ll get a better result.

  1. Test Your Knowledge

You can’t really predict how you will do on an exam until you take it. The next best thing is a practice exam. More than just quizzing you on your knowledge of the subject, practice tests allow you to get an idea of the exam format and identify your strengths and weaknesses. Dedicated test-takers might even try taking the test at the same time as the scheduled exam so that they can determine how well they can recall their studying under similar circumstances.

Taking tests is hard, but the result is more than worth it. For all the help you need preparing for your contractor licensing exam, contact us at CSLS today!