Math for Life

About — Services — Setting Goals and Planning — Ask a Question

Setting Goals and Planning

A goal might be relatively simple and short-term, for example, “understand and complete each day’s homework assignment.” Or, a goal might be larger and longer-term, such as, “prepare for the ACT / SAT / Regents test in ___ weeks.”

Once you have identified a goal, the next step is to figure out how budget your time to achieve your goal (plus, all the other goals you have). Just like a financial budget, a time budget helps you focus on the important things first; it also gives you permission to do something else if you are meeting your budget targets.

Over the years and numerous standardized tests (including my actuarial exams, all of which I passed on the first try and all of which were self taught), I followed the same basic sequence of steps:

  • Review / learn all the topical material that would be on the exam, taking a lot of notes. Begin memorizing the “must know” formulas and rules, and how to apply them. Work the exercises in the textbook or homework problem sets to solidify the basic principles. This step usually took the first half of the total available time.

  • The next 1/4 of the time is spent reviewing the course material from the notes, and working sample problems from the exam. Try to condense the notes into key reminders that you can get through quickly. This is also the opportunity to brush up on the areas on which you might be a little unsteady.

  • The last 1/4 of the time is spent getting into “fighting shape” to take the exam: Take practice exams under exam conditions, correct and review. Focus on the missed questions, and understand why you missed them. If there are one or two topic areas that represent a small proportion of total points and that you just can’t get, it may be time to concede that you can recognize that type of problem and just skip the question. We all have mental blocks; hopefully, the preparation will minimize them to the best of your ability, even if they can’t be eliminated entirely.

  • Right before the exam, stop, relax, get a good night’s sleep. Let your brain synthesize the concepts and go into the test fresh and alert.

Of course, these are suggested guidelines based on what worked well for me. Depending on your goals and circumstances, you may come up with a different allocation of time, although the basic learn / review / practice sequence should apply to almost all situations.