If you can predict the test questions your teacher will ask, and if you practice your answers, you will do better on tests. The C H A N C E strategy can help you predict possible test questions. It's the next best thing to a crystal ball.

C = Critical Ideas

Focus on critical ideas - the ones that are most important to understanding the chapter or topic as a whole. Most teachers won't test you on picky details.

H = Higher-Order Questions

Whether it's a big dream or a small change, the important thing is to get started: Some questions require answers that are very clear. You can find the answers right in your class notes or textbooks. These are called lower-order questions. For example, "Which president's wife held sceances?" or "When did the Lusitania sink?".

But other questions require more thinking. You have to pull information from more than one sentence or paragraph, make judgments, or draw conclusions. These are called higher-order questions. For example, "What would happen if a president's wife or husband held sceances today?" or "How might history have been different if the Lusitania had not been sunk?".

When preparing for a test, try to predict both kinds of questions.

A = Accuracy

Do you understand the material you're studying? If you can tell in your own words what a textbook chapter said, or explain what your teacher meant during a class lecture, then you're interpreting these materials with accuracy. The questions you predict will be more accurate too.

N = Number

Don't predict just one or two questions. Predict a large number - as many as you can. Cover all of the material you're studying. The more questions you can practice, the better you'll do.

C = Clarity

Confusing questions lead to confusing answers. Are your questions clear? Do they have clarity? You can improve the clarity of your questions by choosing your words carefully. For example, "What are the five major causes of the Civil War?" has more clarity (and leads to better answers) than, "What are the reasons the Civil War started?"

E = Examine

Use your predicted questions to examine yourself. Make up and take a sample test. Check your answers against your textbook notes.