Professors who give students pop quizzes are not necessarily loved by their students. Students feel manipulated by these anxiety-provoking devices, which are designed to make sure students come to class and keep up with the reading. And even for students who do attend class and read the assignments, it can be stressful to figure out how to get ready for one of these may-or-may-not-happen exams.
Need some help surviving the dreaded pop quiz? Here are some tips for how to prepare.
Keep Up With Reading Assignments
One of the main reasons your professor gives pop quizzes is to ensure that students don't fall behind on the reading. This leads to better class discussions – and helps prevents last minute cramming by those who wait until the last minute to read anything. There really isn't any way around this. If your teacher gives you pop quizzes on the reading, you have to read.
Here are some tips to help you keep up with a college reading load.
Read for the Quiz
Although you can't avoid doing the reading, you can save some time by reading with the quiz in mind. The best way to do this is to make sure you know and understand the main ideas in the reading. After all, unless your teacher is truly sadistic, you're not going to be asked questions about minor details.
To help yourself out, write down the main ideas as you read, or create a brief outline of the reading. You can use these notes again as you study for midterms and final exams. If you're reading a textbook, take advantage of chapter summaries and headings.
Can you look for main ideas instead of doing all of the readings? That depends. On the one hand, the main points will most likely appear on the quiz. On the other hand, it's hard to find and understand the main points unless you do at least some of the reading.
In addition, look and listen for clues about what the professor might put on the quiz from the reading. Check your syllabus to find out what topics you will be covering, and keep that in mind as you read. Or if your teacher focuses on certain topics in class quite a bit, look for these topics in the reading, as they may appear on the quiz.
Look Over Your Class Notes
Looking over your notes periodically is a good idea even if you don't have quizzes, because this will keep information fresh in your head and make it easier to study for exams. If your teacher gives pop quizzes, it's also important to look over your notes because you may be quizzed on material from lectures. Since one purpose of the pop quiz is to improve attendance, teachers may ask relatively simply questions from class to punish those students who weren't there.
Come to Class
There's no way around this. If you're not in class, you can't take the quiz and you'll get a zero. If you have a class where pop quizzes are a staple, you're going to have to maintain good attendance.
Pop quizzes are annoying. They are designed to make sure students are doing what they are supposed to do, and as adults who are paying for a course, this may seem like manipulation. On the other hand, keep in mind that quizzes can be the incentive students need to keep up with their work, which may very well lead to better grades. Furthermore, if you do the work you are expected to complete, pop quizzes usually aren't all that challenging. In other words, do your work, and you won't hate pop quizzes!
See also:
How to Ace a Midterm or Final Exam
Naomi Rockler-Gladen - Instructional designer and freelance writer, Naomi Rockler-Gladen writes some of Suite101's most read work.
