How to take your exam[1]

How to Take Your Exam
Advancement Examination Day Has Finally
Arrived
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Finally the day to take your advancement-in-rate exam has
arrived. You have studied diligently for the past several months
with your shipmates, and you are confident that you are
prepared. Still if this is your first time to take an advancement
exam, you are probably a little nervous. This section will help
you know what to expect when you take your actual
advancement-in-rate examination.

Items You Need to Bring on Exam Day
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On exam day, you have required and optional items that you need to bring to the testing site. You must bring your
military ID card when you take your exam. At most exam sites, the Uniform of the Day is required. Candidates may
use the following items on exam day:
Log tables
Slide rules
Musicians may not use “musical slide rules”.
Quartermasters are not authorized to use “nautical slide rules”.
Solar or battery-powered, hand-held calculators of any key configuration as long as they are capable of
displaying only a single line of numeric and mathematical characters
Calculators must not be capable of storing and retrieving data.
Seabee ratings are not allowed to use preprogrammed construction, electrician, plumbing, and other
calculators designed specifically for tradesman use.
Engineering Aid (EA) candidates are allowed to use general scientific calculators that are not
programmable.
Any examining material or instruments authorized in the NAVADMIN for the current examination
Prior to exam day, check with your exam site to determine its specific requirements.

Items That Are Allowed or Provided on Exam
Day
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On exam day you will be allowed to bring or will be provided all items
that are required for you to take your exam. All advancement candidates
are provided the following items:
Computer-generated Advancement in Rate or Change of Rating
Worksheet
Unopened examination for the appropriate rating and paygrade
One answer sheet
Scratch paper
Two lead pencils
Colored feedback sheet
Any examining material or instruments authorized in the
NAVADMIN for the current examination (Prior to exam day, check
with your exam site to see if you need to provide some of these
materials or instruments.)

The Examination Session Begins
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The examination session lasts exactly 3 hours (180 minutes). It
starts on time, and it ends on time. If you are late, you will not
be allowed to take your advancement exam. Don't be late!
When you arrive to take your exam, your military ID card will
be checked before you are allowed in the examination area and
given any testing materials. Once you have received your
materials, you will be assigned a seat for the test. Usually, you
will not sit beside or across from anyone in your rating.

Pre-Exam Procedures
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Once the examination area has been closed and the testing session
begins, the ESO or designated examiner will read the Verbatim
Instructions for your exam. Before you begin answering your exam
questions, you will:
Verify and correct bar-coded information on your Answer Sheet.
Enter information from your Worksheet on your Answer Sheet.
Open your examination envelope and remove your examination
booklet.
Check your examination booklet to ensure you have the exam for
the rating in which you are competing or hoping to advance.
Check to make sure no missing, misnumbered, or illegible pages
are contained in your examination booklet.
If you have an incorrect examination booklet or your booklet has errors,
you will be given a replacement examination booklet. If spare
examinations are not available, an exam will be split between two
Sailors. If you are using a split examination booklet, you cannot write in
the examination booklet when you are taking your exam.

Examination Proctors
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Proctors are personnel who supervise the administration of your
examination to ensure standardized test procedures are
maintained. They assist in the administration of the exam and
ensure no cheating occurs. There will be at least one proctor for
every 25 candidates. During the examination session, proctors:
May explain the instructions on the face of the exam
booklet.
Will not read the exam questions to you or interpret them
for you.
Will provide extra pencils and scratch paper when needed.
May escort candidates to the head in emergency situations.
Will collect your exam materials and ensure your Answer
Sheet and Worksheet are complete and clearly understood.

Your Examination Booklet
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Each examination booklet contains 200 multiple-choice questions. On
every exam:
Each question has four numbered responses.
Each question has only one correct answer.
Occupational questions are first and PMK questions last.
Your paygrade determines the number of rating and PMK
questions you will be given. As you advance, you will see more
PMK questions and fewer rating questions on your exams.
Check the table to see the number of rating and PMK questions
that will appear on your exam.
Question Count By Paygrade
Paygrade Rating PMK
E4 150 50
E5 135 65
E6 115 85
E7 100 100

Test-Taking Tips for Your Advancement
Exam
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Be confident! If you have developed and followed your study
plan, you are prepared to take this exam. Follow these tips as
you take your exam:
Accept the fact that you will be anxious. Very few people
enjoy taking tests!
Do not rush through your exam.
Do not be distracted by the people around you.

Additional Test-Taking Tips
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Follow these tips when answering your exam questions:
Read each exam item carefully.
Try to answer the question in your own words before you read your answer
choices.
Read your answer choices.
If you find the answer, mark your choice and move to the next question.
Fill in the bubble for your answer completely.
If you change an answer, make sure you completely erase the answer
bubble.
Trust your knowledge and do not watch for answer patterns.
Be sure you fill in only one answer per question.
Make sure the number on your answer sheet matches the number of the
question you are answering.

More Test-Taking Tips
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The order in which you answer your exam questions can help
relieve your anxiety and often improve your exam score. Follow
these suggestions for answering your questions:
Answer the easy questions first.
Save the toughest questions for last.
Do not waste time and build anxiety on difficult questions.
Go to the next question if you aren’t sure of an
answer.
Mark the skipped question in your exam booklet, (if
you are not sharing an exam booklet).
Change your focus to answering the next question.
Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and relax if you run
into several difficult questions in a row. Think to
yourself, “I can do this; just relax.”
Answer every question on your exam. There is no penalty
for guessing.

Choosing the Correct Answer
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One helpful thing about your advancement exam is that you always have the
correct answer for each question in front of you. You just have to select the
correct answer and eliminate the wrong answers, or distractors. These distractors
are designed to be similar to distract you away from the correct answer.
The chiefs who developed your exam have taken courses to help them develop
answer choices that will distract you from the correct answer. So, the best exam
results are obtained when you have studied and can remember the correct answers.

Strategies for Selecting the Correct Multiple-
Choice Answer
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When taking your advancement examination, use the following
strategies to help you select the correct answer:
Read each question carefully.
Underline key words or information in the question that
will help you understand it and guide you to the correct
answer.
Try to answer the question in your own words before you
look at your choices.
Read each answer choice carefully.
Select the choice that matches your answer the best.
NOTE: If there were not enough complete exams available for
your rate and rating, sometimes you may have to split an exam
and share it. If you are using a split exam booklet, you cannot
write in the examination booklet when you are taking your exam.

What to Do When You Are Unsure of an
Answer
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It is very rare for a Sailor to answer all questions on an
advancement exam correctly. Use these strategies to help you
answer difficult questions:
When you are not sure of an answer, mark that question in
your examination booklet, if you are not splitting your
exam with another Sailor. Then skip the question, and
come back to it later. Be careful not to lose your place on
your answer sheet.
Sometimes information that is included in a question,
diagram, or answer choice will help you answer a difficult
question you skipped or one you encounter later on your
exam.
After you have answered all the easy questions, go back to
the questions you left unanswered and use the process of
elimination (POE) strategies to help eliminate choices and
increase your odds of choosing the correct answer.

Process of Elimination (POE) Strategies
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Process of Elimination (POE) strategies help you eliminate
incorrect answers when you are unsure of the correct answer to a
question. When you eliminate incorrect answers, you increase
the probability of selecting the correct answer.
Remember, for every incorrect answer you eliminate, the
probability of selecting the correct answer improves. Eliminate
two choices, and your chance of getting the correct answer
jumps to 50 percent.
Follow these POE strategies to help you select the correct
answer:
Look at each answer choice critically.
Try to determine why an answer is wrong.
Cross off incorrect answers in your exam booklet, if you
are not splitting your exam with another Sailor.

Additional POE Strategies
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After you have eliminated as many answer choices as possible,
make an educated guess from the answer choices that remain:
Make sure the answer satisfies all parts of the question.
Rule out all answers that contain wrong options.
Rule out all answers that omit options that you are sure
exist.
Choose an answer that makes sense based on logical
reasoning and your background knowledge.

Strategies for Questions with Diagrams
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Some of your exam questions may include a diagram that you
must use to help answer that question or several questions.
Follow the strategies below to answer questions that contain
diagrams:
Before reading the question, you should:
Study the diagram carefully.
Read the title and any description that is provided.
Ask yourself what the diagram is about.
Ask yourself what the diagram shows you.
Examine all labels on the diagram.
Follow the strategies for answering multiple-choice
questions.

Strategies for Questions with Tables
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Some questions on your exam may include a table that you must
use to help answer that question or several questions.
tables:
Read the title of the table, which is usually located
at the top.
Read all labels for the table.
Determine the number of columns in the table and
their purpose.
Determine the number of rows in the table and their
purpose.
Figure out the relationship between the columns and
rows.
Ask yourself what the table shows you.
questions.

Strategies for Questions with Graphs
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Some of your questions may include a graph that you must use
to help answer that question or several questions.
graphs:
Determine the type of graph used such as bar, line,
or circle.
Read the title of the graph.
Read all labels for the graph.
Analyze the graph.
Answer these questions about the graph.
What information does this graph give me?
What are the labeled items?
What happens to an item when other items
change?
questions.

Strategies for Questions Requiring
Calculations
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For some questions on your exam, you may have to use a
mathematical formula and compute your answer.
Follow the strategies below to answer questions that require
mathematical calculations:
When inserting numbers into your formula, make sure you
copy the numbers from your question correctly.
When working the problem on your scratch paper, make
sure you put the question number beside your math
problem. You may want to return to your calculation later.
If you calculate your answer, and it does not match one of
your answer choices, recheck your calculation with your
calculator before trying a different formula or rearranging
your numbers.
If there is enough room, and you are not splitting your
exam with another Sailor, calculate your answer in your
exam booklet so you can easily see all numbers used in
your formula.

Double-Check Your Exam Answers
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If you complete your exam before time runs out, double-check
your answers. Follow these tips when you complete your exam:
Make sure you answered all items.
Make sure the question number matches the number of the
item on your Answer Sheet.
Make sure you have marked only one answer per question.
Be careful about changing a multiple-choice answer
without a good reason.
Change your answer only if you have sound reasoning for
the change. Your first intuition is often your best intuition.
If you finish early, you will have time to complete the feedback
sheet in the materials you were given when you entered the
examination area. Then, you can turn in all your testing materials
and leave the examination area.

Pacing Yourself During Your Exam
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You have exactly three hours (180 minutes) to complete your
advancement examination. You will be notified when there is 30
minutes of testing time left. Having your watch handy can really
help you pace yourself during your exam. Never let time run out
without answering all questions. Follow these timely tips as you
complete your exam:
Watch your time carefully.
Follow your pace and do not be distracted by the pace of
others around you.
Check your watch regularly after you have been notified
that only 30 minutes are left for your exam.
When you know you will not have time to read and
answer the remaining questions:
Select your favorite number: 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Use this number as your answer choice and fill in
the answers to any questions you will not have time
to read and answer.

How to take your exam[1]

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How to take your exam[1]