On T2L Academy, I have made various videos on actual number sense tricks and concepts. However, I wanted to use this blog post as a way to go over some important test-taking strategies to help you succeed on the day of the competition. So, here are my five tips for taking the UIL Number Sense test:

Number 1: Warm up your number sense skills.

This one is huge. On the day of the competition, you need to get into the UIL/Mental math mode, and prepare your brain for those ten minutes. I suggest either finding a quiet spot at the competition venue or taking ten minutes before you leave the house (if it does not take you too long to go to the competition venue) to take one UIL number sense test. Here is the thing that you shouldn’t miss: take a test you have taken before, and try not to check your answers after you are done. You don’t want to be upset about your mistakes just minutes before the real thing. Any preparation and corrections should be done in the months, weeks, or days leading up to the competition, not on the day of. Take a test that you are familiar with, so that your speed is faster (and boosts your confidence), but you are still doing the calculations to warm up.

Number 2: Each problem is its own test

Another big one for while you are taking the test – after you have written down an answer, that question is done. No sense thinking about it. Move on to the next question. Treat every problem like its own individual test – once turned in, it is turned in. You cannot overwrite on your answer, so once that blank has your answers, you need to leave that problem alone. Focus all your energy and brainpower on your next question. Re-calculating your last answer will damage your accuracy and speed on the problem at hand.

Number 3: Don’t waste your time

This point is similar to number 2. However, I really want to make this extra clear. Scratching/Overwriting doesn’t help you. In fact, it is a waste of time and can therefore hurt your score. You don’t want that. Instead, move on to the next question and try to recover the points that were lost on that previous question.

Number 4: Mind in the math

You have ten minutes to take a test. Your focus should just be on those numbers. This takes practice. The competition environment is typically silent, but the sound of scratching pencils, possibly a timer, and the occasional cough can be just as intimidating. The key is to just think about the math. In those ten minutes, it’s just you and the numbers.

Number 5: Breathe

Remember that you have practiced for this. You have worked hard to make your way to this point. You have learned so many things in the process of preparing for this competition. It can be difficult to take that deep breath right before the competition begins, when the butterflies in your stomach just won’t calm down. This is very important, however, to make sure that in those nerve-wracking ten minutes of the competition, nervousness doesn’t distract you from giving this thing your best shot!

Just do this for the fun – try your best, and do it for the learning.  You’ve got this.

Join me on my learning journey!  Visit the T2L Academy YouTube Channel at: https://tinyurl.com/teaching2learn