Hey Everyone!!! TEA Test help

[pearljamknicks]

Hi everyone, I'm taking the TEA in about two weeks and I've been studying a lot the past few days. As I work many of the problems I get frustrated because I am not getting the correct answers in ALL sections... I would say i'm getting about 37/75 right. Not too hot. I'm using the ARCO book, which I've been told is very helpful. I'm just worried about the difficulty of this exam...I've never been good with these kinds of tests. Any words of wisdom from those who have passed or taken the test? It seems almost impossible to complete the first two sections. How should one go about scoring higher in the verbal and investigative problems. Thanks for the responses.

Pearljamknicks

[Goodguys]

I spent only about an hour a night studying. Avoid getting frustrated. Are you only taking the practice tests and not reviewing the formulas, etc? I hadn't done math since college and had to review everything. I took my time and relearned all the algebra shortcuts, formulas, fractions.... Practice. Practice. The ARCO book was the only one I used and found it to be very helpful.

[pearljamknicks]

Thanks for the response...I'm not too worried about the math since I can study the formulas and work out the problems in the workbook. I'm really worried about the investigative part because i do the practice exams and the problems and sometimes teh answers seem to random and the book really doesn't justify why that answer was chosen. Are there any suggestions to working the investigation questions more accurately? Also with the verbal reasoning how is one supposed to approach that. I find that when i place the 50 minute time limit i do horribly on that section, but when i take my time I do well on that section. It just seems impossible to read the paragraph and then read all the choices and determine the correct answer under two minutes. In your opinions, were the tests in teh ARCO book more difficult or the actual test? Thanks again.

[tunlrat]

Remember they're looking for the "best" answer out of the five choices, not necessarily the "correct" answer (it's weird, I know). After reading the paragraph, look at the answers that are obviously not correct & mark those off. Then whittle it down from there. You should get it down to the two "best" ones--then choose (pray) from there.:D

You gotta play the odds man. If you do well in the verbal by taking your time you should approach that section that way (anyone who has taken the LSAT can agree with me on this). You can't expect to get EVERY question right in EVERY section. That's an impossibility & if someone actually has done that I would like to meet them. Look at the questions you think you can do & answer those and move on. Keep yourself extra time in the end, so you can answer those you couldn't answer (I like picking "A" or "B" myself, stay away from "C!"). Practice that way & get your averages up, e.g. you were able to answer 15 out of 30 in the time limit. Next practice session you may get that up to 18/30, then 23/30, and so forth. That's the way I practiced, & somehow someway I passed that friggin test (though I didn't think I did at the time). :eek:
LSAT study guides are also EXCELLENT practice for the verbal sections.

I found the ARCO tests are pretty similar to the actual TEA, not much harder or easier. Bon chance...