Exams and how INTPs cope with them.

[Jordan~]

So I just finished my first year of formal external exams, and I must say that I found it pretty easy. In any subject I was sufficiently interested in, I didn't need to study at all - the information required was just there when I needed it. Even in subjects in which I don't pay attention and hardly work at all, I could recall enough information to get by (and probably do so quite well - I don't know yet for sure). I was wondering how other INTPs do in exams. Do you also find that studying is, most of the time, unnecessary?

[andrew]

I am in high school and I can get high eighties without studying, note taking, homework doing and wakefullness in class. I can absorb information at a speed in which a few minutes of reading can get me caught up one two or three abstract ideas. I once learned two chapters of quadratic equations and their manipulatiosn in half and hour and aced the exam the next day. I find exams to be pretty boring. I usually get 70-80 with no studying and 80-90 if i study the night before. I wonder what I'd get if I worked.

[alierae]

Sometimes, I find that studying only makes me forget. I know it sounds stupid, but really...If I study a lot about a certain subject, it makes me forget the other subjects. I guess it's what you call over-studying?! Also, I don't really need to study something in which I am interested, like you said, Jordan. However, if its something I absolutely hate, I just try to do my best. Cramming something in at the last minute that I didn't get in the first place is pretty useless, especially if I don't like it.

[loveofreason]

I never had enough times in exams. Too much a perfectionist in answering questions. What I answered I aswered well, but I would only ever finish three quarters of the questions at most. (eg. out of four essay questions: one answered thoroughly, one hastily, one in point form/sketch outline, one not at all.)

[Radioactive_Springtime]

I either get it or I don't. More to say I can either spend the time and effort to learn it or I can't.

[Ermine]

Maybe it's just because I'm still in high school, but I seldom ever study, and if I do, I do it the night before. I get more than decent grades that way. The problem is that I don't have a long enough attention span to study like everyone else, and I know I'll have to sometime.

[vic]

when i was in high school i seldom studied. I passed but of course my grades were abysmal. I only got a 3.7 yet somehow got into a decent university.

In college, i partied a lot and had the best time of my life. I only did well in classes (e.g. got an B+/A) if I studied AND enjoyed the material. In classes where I thought were stupid, well what else would an INTP do?

[Linsejko]

I have studied for an exam so rarely I can count the times on my two hands.

I never failed a class.

Enough said.

.L

[Titania]

I have never taken studying so seriously but my grades have always been quite high ( 7-10 in the Finnish scale, where 4=F and 10=A; and those 7s are craft and Home Economics. ). I almost never do my homework, I never study to exams more than reading the headlines one night before the exam, I'm doodling in my books on lessons. I start really study the subject if it caught my interest ( like magnetism once did) but that doesn't happen very often. I'm now in secondary school (I'm not sure if that's the right word, Finnish school system is slightly different) and we are studying so boring and obvious things...

I really don't care about exams and I usually forget when I have them . It's impossible to me to study for exam; I've been in school for 8 years now and every year I have tried to learn that skill. Every time I open the book, I hardly read couple chapters until my mind says: " I know this thing. " and I close the book. Before exams I just gather all my knowledge about the subject from the dephts of my brain and try not to let them sink there again .
There's almost never enough time in exams. I try to write the perfect aswer, but the right words just run away from me. And there's never enough space for my answers... Somebody said once when I was the last person in the class making the exam: " She's writing a novel again..."

My theory is that we learn things with the iNtuition without noticing it: like we would have invisible antennas collecting information all the time ;D . I don't have better explanation...

[Linsejko]

I think schools could benefit immensely by using the memory curves utilized in supermemo... if it has been clearly demonstrated that our current system of education is broken and results in very inefficient data retention, and that there is a much better way readily available...

...why aren't we using this much better way?

-_-

.L

[Kuu]

Tradition? Bureaucracy? Ignorance?

Supermemo is great. Recently I used a software based off it to learn katakana and hiragana. Worked like a charm. When I get back to school, I'll definitely put it to more rigorous testing. Although it can be a chore to input all the data to get started.

Exams are dumb. They just measure capacity of memory recall and writing speed under stressful, time constrained situations.

I rarely study... subjects I like I sometimes know more than the teacher. Meh or stupid boring subjects I just pay semi-attention, or skim the book the night before, and pass with at least 8/10. I study mainly if it involves maths (I get concepts easily, but mess up under stress. Studying therefore is just time-stress practice). Seriously, who calculates the inverse of a 20x20 matrix by hand? That's why we have computers!!! Engineering classes make me want to kill people...

Luckily I have few exams now, it's all project presentations now... an art form in itself, to be sure. That is the reason I, the undefeated, failed a class for the first time in my life, a year ago. I sort of forgot that people don't sell wood and glue at 4am... stupid planning deficiency!

[Vrecknidj]

Originally Posted by Tekton

Exams are dumb. They just measure capacity of memory recall and writing speed under stressful, time constrained situations.

Over-generalize much? Not all exams are of the sort you describe. And, sometimes being put to the test under just those kinds of circumstances is exactly what's needed. Often enough, life throws us challenges that have to be dealt with under stressful, time-constrained situations. Sometimes, exams of those sorts are exactly the right way to determine whether someone can do what needs to be done.

All that said, I tend to agree that there's much wrong with the way tests are conducted in schools these days. (And I'm a teacher.)

I'm not a fan of many of the methods of teaching used in most of the USA these days. I can't really speak to what happens in other places as I'm ignorant of that.

Dave

[Zero]

I didn't usually do super on exams, but I don't like to study and I don't (usually).

I get a bit bored taking exams and they take forever.

[Kuu]

Originally Posted by Vrecknidj

And, sometimes being put to the test under just those kinds of circumstances is exactly what's needed. Often enough, life throws us challenges that have to be dealt with under stressful, time-constrained situations. Sometimes, exams of those sorts are exactly the right way to determine whether someone can do what needs to be done.

Care to provide some examples? Maybe if you're a doctor on the ER. Or if you're in Jeopardy . But life's challenges rarely involve people calculating the precise acceleration needed to stop a car in order to avoid a crash, while they're driving. People just hit the brakes, try to change direction. Or knowing all the countries and capitals of the world, under three minutes, alone and without any reference...

Success in decision making under those circumstances is basically instinct, intuition, and previous experience... not raw data recall. Deep analysis takes time and level-heads, which is why INTPs avoid making decisions under those situations, right?

I'd rather make an essay, develop a project, or hold a debate, rather than an exam.

[Linsejko]

Unfortunately, writing an essay or developing a project do not test that you actually have the information in your head. That's the value of a test. It being timed seems to be a matter of convenience- when it is timed for pressure, I can't say I agree with that being useful.

A debate seems to defeat your goal. It still requires on-the-spot recall, unless you are using sources- and even if that, then it falls prey to the same problems with the other two alternatives you mentioned.

I prefer oral exams. It's much more possible to accurately asses one's knowledge of a topic by conversing with them on it, than by asking targeted questions; school becomes studying to pass the tests, rather than studying to learn. Oral exams solve this.

Unfortunately, they aren't very time efficient. :\

.L

[Kuu]

Originally Posted by Linsejko

Unfortunately, writing an essay or developing a project do not test that you actually have the information in your head. That's the value of a test.

Which is precisely why tests are so wrong. Education should not be about Information. Information is not knowledge. Most things "learned" in school are forgotten in a few years, unless they are actually used. Memorizing by itself is worthless, and that is why we have libraries and databases for, and computers for number crunching.

No. Education should be about knowledge. That is, understanding. And skills. Not information. Essays, Projects, and Debates make you develop data gathering, analysis, and synthesis skills. Public speaking skills. Logic, analogy, metaphors, making parallels. They make you think and create, instead of spewing facts.

They are also more engaging, and might actually make you understand and remember the data in the long run, compared to just memorizing.

[EditorOne]

Actually, until I found this website, one of the few experiences that lead me to believe there were others sort of like me was taking the scholastic aptitude tests (long, long ago). On the verbal tests, especially, some of those nuanced questions just made me click with the person, somewhere, who thought up such a great, clever question.

Exams I didn't like included the school ones where the teacher would write 'answer needs explanation' when the exams came back. :-) Well, jeez, I got it.

Our high school report card grading system was such that you got a grade plus a rating for effort. I'd get an A in most things (which in that time and place was 94-100) and frequently a 2 for effort, which was "could try harder." I always wanted to return the report card with "rating needs explanation." But then I'd get whatever number they used to denote "smartass," so I didn't. Point of the anecdote: If you're still in high school, at least TRY to look like you're working hard. :-)

I think I stopped getting upset in anticipation of tests about the sixth grade. Some kind of realization set in that if I'd just go over the material, everything would be there when I found I needed to reach for it on a test.

[Linsejko]

Which is precisely why tests are so wrong. Education should not be about Information. Information is not knowledge. Most things "learned" in school are forgotten in a few years, unless they are actually used. Memorizing by itself is worthless, and that is why we have libraries and databases for, and computers for number crunching.

No. Education should be about knowledge. That is, understanding. And skills. Not information. Essays, Projects, and Debates make you develop data gathering, analysis, and synthesis skills. Public speaking skills. Logic, analogy, metaphors, making parallels. They make you think and create, instead of spewing facts.

They are also more engaging, and might actually make you understand and remember the data in the long run, compared to just memorizing.

I'm honestly surprised you are 20. This just sounds, and I don't mean to be condescending, naive. I will simply assume you are speaking directly to the subjects of your particular dislike, that began your ranting- probably something math related, because that certainly is a limited field that this can make sense to, in a limited sense.

The thing is, comprehension, ability to 'grasp' progressively more and more abstract concepts, etc., are largely related to your IQ and personality type. SJ types have trouble with abstract concepts, it's that simple. They would go mad at the unclear definition of success that your exams would create.

Tell me, what separates an architect from an average joe, if not specialized knowledge? How about a doctor? If it's really just public speaking and problem solving that is important, than we should be able to just stick any human in front of an advanced database of knowledge with some fancy search algorithms and have them do the job.

But you and me both know it doesn't work that way. You, as an architect, just understand things architect related much more than I. And you are able to work effectively, efficiently, based on how much information is at the fingertips of your mind's grasp.

Data retention is important. Perhaps the schools go about passing that information on to students in a very inefficient way, and with lots of of fluff along the way, but amidst all of that you get the tools you need to succeed in your career (usually). And the majority of that is just data, sheer data, and experience (which is a form of data unto itself, albeit significantly more complex and difficult to test by conventional methods).

As a disclaimer- I believe philosophy & logic courses should be the most important core classes required of every student. Those skills are without equal.

.L

[Yank]

Originally Posted by Linsejko

Tell me, what separates an architect from an average joe, if not specialized knowledge? How about a doctor? If it's really just public speaking and problem solving that is important, than we should be able to just stick any human in front of an advanced database of knowledge with some fancy search algorithms and have them do the job.

A Doctor could easily be an average Joe. The discipline required to sit through eons of school and follow a hard-line regime set by others does not make one a genius or intellectually superior; in fact, it might mean the opposite.

Sure, Doctors are needed and important (as are attorneys and plumbers!), but their knowledge and skills are obtained through extreme repetition and study of what their predecessors accomplished; not what they created or discovered in their own right.

Specialized knowledge is everywhere and it comes pretty cheap. You can grab the yellow pages, pick up your phone, and hire specialized knowledge with the push of just a few buttons. Specialized knowledge only has value when an architect needs it and incorporates it into a larger structure.

Originally Posted by Linsejko

Data retention is important.

I think that really depends on the personality type. Retaining information only becomes important to me when I actually need specific information to solve a particular problem; everything else is superfluous and quickly dismissed.

re: testing

It's been a long time since I've been in school but I never studied prior to testing. I played baseball in high school and college, and all that mattered was I maintained a C average so I could keep playing ball. I got As in English and math related classes despite the fact that I never studied. Everything else I got Cs and Ds.

re: pressure/test situations

It might just be me, or because I'm an INTP, but I don't allow myself to get into those situations unless it's by design (in which case I'm 100% prepared for every possible scenario). And if someone deliberately tries to engage me in a high pressure situation, I typically don't react at all because I refuse to be someone's puppet. No reaction typically forces the initiator to resolve the problem, especially if their motive was to create a spectacle.

[Cabbo Pearimo]

I got ten GCSEs (pretty much straight Cs) from a Grammar school. As far as I'm concerned, that's terrible. I'm dissapointed.

[Wisp]

Nnnnn... I agree with tekton. All these different people being "educated" learn very little by the time they're, say, 30. By 20 they'll have learned a lot. It's all forgotten, except for what you use on a day-to-day basis. This is why teaching that emphasizes thought process (not necessarily a particular thought process) is the order of the day. We have so many stupid educated people. People with degrees from who knows how long ago... But no-one actually thinks. ANd politicians are a class of stupidity above the rest. But I digress.

My school sucks. It requires me to turn in homework. Or I WILL fail. tests make up 10% of my grade, schoolwork 20%, homework, the other 70%. Yeah. But I DO ace the tests without studying. Needless to say, my GPA is suffering right now. (2.8/9)

[Vrecknidj]

Originally Posted by Wisp

My school sucks. It requires me to turn in homework. Or I WILL fail. tests make up 10% of my grade, schoolwork 20%, homework, the other 70%. Yeah. But I DO ace the tests without studying. Needless to say, my GPA is suffering right now. (2.8/9)

Here's the problem. The school systems are set up to accommodate the majority. Something like 75% of the kids in US schools are S types, about half each of SJs and SPs. So, school has lots of activities that are good for both of them.

Homework is excellent for your student with average intelligence and average interest. Tests tend (note please that I did say "tend") to do a good job evaluating whether the test taker has amassed the information into regurgitate-able chunks. (Sorry for that image, I'm sure many will find it appropriate though.)

I work at a school (more than one, actually, but I digress again) where homework is constant and mandatory. I find ways around the policy myself, but, I can only deviate so far from the norm.

Still, for most of my students, it works well for them. For the very rare INTP student, it's often a nightmare. The problem isn't the tests, or the homework, per se, those are symptoms of a bigger problem.

Naturally, this is one reason among many why my wife and I homeschooled our kids.

Dave

[deserthighway]

I think schools are horribly geared toward quantitative standards. When it came to high school, I hated it. I had understanding teachers who didn't mind if I didn't pay attention. I always did enough homework to get an A (though more often than not it was late or completed the night before) I could ace exams with little to no preparation. I graduated valedictorian (out of a class of 55). I spent very little effort on school and spent most of my time reading in class or writing (pretending to be taking notes.)

One example of how irrational our school systems are: My mom teachers self-contained special ed (kids with autism, down syndrome, etc..). No Child Left Behind mandates that her students, most of which are incapable of reading and some of even talking, to be able to pass the same tests and function in a normal classroom like normal students.

[Wisp]

Oh, god. Not that piece of crap pretending to be a law. NCLB is more rightfully named "No Child Left Standing"

[Kuu]

Originally Posted by Vrecknidj

Here's the problem. The school systems are set up to accommodate the majority. Something like 75% of the kids in US schools are S types, about half each of SJs and SPs. So, school has lots of activities that are good for both of them.

Homework is excellent for your student with average intelligence and average interest. Tests tend (note please that I did say "tend") to do a good job evaluating whether the test taker has amassed the information into regurgitate-able chunks. (Sorry for that image, I'm sure many will find it appropriate though.)

I work at a school (more than one, actually, but I digress again) where homework is constant and mandatory. I find ways around the policy myself, but, I can only deviate so far from the norm.

Still, for most of my students, it works well for them. For the very rare INTP student, it's often a nightmare. The problem isn't the tests, or the homework, per se, those are symptoms of a bigger problem.

Naturally, this is one reason among many why my wife and I homeschooled our kids.

Dave

So you would agree to create a separate educational method, or separate classes, for people that are impaired by this system aimed to the mediocre, average, lowest common denominator students?

[Gigazz]

I never study for exams. Heck, I didn't study for my finals last week, and I aced all of them. I never study, I always manage to get in the 80's-90's, except in Latin(I really need to quit slacking off in class, I guess!).

[Mischz]

I am not really sure if the MBTI personality can be correlated to performance in academic examinations. But for the sake of fun, I shall respond.

What I think I've observed:
- I do well whenever I try, or in subjects I am keen in.
- I look forward to examinations as a sparring exercise - they never really faze me.
- I've only ever failed one module in university - and it's because it was pass/fail and I skipped too many classes (so the guy failed me for that, nice).
- I'm not obsessed about grades. BUT having said that - I do feel good about myself when I do well. Like straight ace-ing one semester because I decided to try to pull my CAP up.. (but I did really study very hard).

^^

[zxc]

Originally Posted by Jordan~

So I just finished my first year of formal external exams, and I must say that I found it pretty easy. In any subject I was sufficiently interested in, I didn't need to study at all - the information required was just there when I needed it. Even in subjects in which I don't pay attention and hardly work at all, I could recall enough information to get by (and probably do so quite well - I don't know yet for sure). I was wondering how other INTPs do in exams. Do you also find that studying is, most of the time, unnecessary?

Originally Posted by andrew

I am in high school and I can get high eighties without studying, note taking, homework doing and wakefullness in class. I can absorb information at a speed in which a few minutes of reading can get me caught up one two or three abstract ideas. I once learned two chapters of quadratic equations and their manipulatiosn in half and hour and aced the exam the next day. I find exams to be pretty boring. I usually get 70-80 with no studying and 80-90 if i study the night before. I wonder what I'd get if I worked.

Originally Posted by deserthighway

I always did enough homework to get an A (though more often than not it was late or completed the night before) I could ace exams with little to no preparation. I graduated valedictorian (out of a class of 55). I spent very little effort on school and spent most of my time reading in class or writing (pretending to be taking notes.)

I can really relate to this! I do less work than pretty much everyone I know (except for my two closest friends, who are also INTPs). My parents and relatives keep trying to make me work, but I just can't do it - nor do I need to. My teachers get quite annoyed/worried because I don't hand homework in, but I always end up acing the test anyway. I was going to drop chemistry for Year 12 (final year of high school), because I found it too easy (and thus boring), but my parents finally convinced me to keep doing it. I also often wonder about what sort of marks I would get if I actually tried.

Originally Posted by loveofreason

I never had enough times in exams. Too much a perfectionist in answering questions. What I answered I aswered well, but I would only ever finish three quarters of the questions at most. (eg. out of four essay questions: one answered thoroughly, one hastily, one in point form/sketch outline, one not at all.)

Originally Posted by titiana

There's almost never enough time in exams. I try to write the perfect aswer, but the right words just run away from me.

That's exactly the same as with me! I often find myself writing one page after an hour, when others have written five or more. I find all these problems (particularly logic-related) with what I'm writing, as I'm writing it, and thus I never get anything done because I'm always rewriting and restructuring what I've already written. My marks in English, International Studies (politics), and History:Revolutions is really suffering as a result of this (not that I really care). Perfectionism hinders me to a great degree with written work, yet I would never let go of it if I could.

Originally Posted by Mischz

I do well whenever I try, or in subjects I am keen in. ... I'm not obsessed about grades. BUT having said that - I do feel good about myself when I do well.

The same as me. The problem occurs when I lose interest in a subject because I feel like I understand it.

[Kumori]

This thread is a very important thread, I do almost no work at school (It moves too slowly and isn't broad enough for my INTP needs), but when the exams come around I really begin stressing out.

Originally Posted by Mischz

I do well whenever I try, or in subjects I am keen in. ... I'm not obsessed about grades. BUT having said that - I do feel good about myself when I do well.

This essentially sums up my current situation at school.


Have any other INTPs here suffered from the line "You're so smart, you should be focusing on your studies", it seems to be a favorite of my parents, both are definitely extroverted feelers who can't quite comprehend that I can't focus on one thing, I need to learn!

[deserthighway]

Originally Posted by Wisp

Oh, god. Not that piece of crap pretending to be a law. NCLB is more rightfully named "No Child Left Standing"

My understanding is that it was largely an attempt to pass a favorable education reform that was actually trying to cut federal education funding as well as seek a push towards the privatization of education.

I'm glad I made it out of high school before it really started screwing things up.

[Wisp]

Two more years... Just two more years...

[SJ77]

Before I started studying at a university I had no problems passing exams.

In the first 2 years of my studies I am forced to take exams in subjects - that are not very interesting - in order to get to the really interesting stuff of the following years.

Oh, and a lot of people here say, they don't have any problems with subjects that interest them. By me this is not the case. It really depends on the lecturer. Only time its easy for me is if the lecturer doesn't suck AND the subject is interesting which in the first 2 years is rarely the case.

And then I usually want to learn for each subject 1week, 6hours a day. But that never happens. I end up learning the day before for like 12 hours. Sometimes it's enough to pass...unfortunately not always.

(my english is bad, I know - sorry)

[hikky]

Back when I was still in school, I never studied, always got in the 90s for exams. Generally got scores in the 99th percentile for standardized tests. My grades were all over the place, I once got an F, usually C or B, and some As. I would have gotten straight As if I had done all of the work, but since I didn't I got no credit for much of it. Made me resent the school system even more because my teachers knew I was far ahead of my classmates and still considered me a struggling student through adherence to the system.

Then again, my school experience only lasted through 7th grade. Only exams I'll be taking for a couple years are the SAT/ACT.. now if I could just get myself to prepare for them...

[furbycow]

Originally Posted by Titania

I have never taken studying so seriously but my grades have always been quite high ( 7-10 in the Finnish scale, where 4=F and 10=A; and those 7s are craft and Home Economics. ). I almost never do my homework, I never study to exams more than reading the headlines one night before the exam, I'm doodling in my books on lessons. I start really study the subject if it caught my interest ( like magnetism once did) but that doesn't happen very often. I'm now in secondary school (I'm not sure if that's the right word, Finnish school system is slightly different) and we are studying so boring and obvious things...

I really don't care about exams and I usually forget when I have them . It's impossible to me to study for exam; I've been in school for 8 years now and every year I have tried to learn that skill. Every time I open the book, I hardly read couple chapters until my mind says: " I know this thing. " and I close the book.

I am a senior in high school and this is much the same with me. As long as I somewhat pay attention during class I usually do well on the tests without ever studying. Either I know the material, or I don't and I've never found studying to help.

Most of the time, though, if I do badly on tests it is because I made stupid mistakes or overlooked something in the question. It bothers me to no end when I miss questions because of switching + and - , or by focusing too much on the main gist of the question, ignoring some minor detail that costs me the points for the question.

[zxc]

Originally Posted by furbycow

I am a senior in high school and this is much the same with me. As long as I somewhat pay attention during class I usually do well on the tests without ever studying. Either I know the material, or I don't and I've never found studying to help.

Most of the time, though, if I do badly on tests it is because I made stupid mistakes or overlooked something in the question. It bothers me to no end when I miss questions because of switching + and - , or by focusing too much on the main gist of the question, ignoring some minor detail that costs me the points for the question.

Exact same for me.

I do English (mandatory), Physics, Chemistry, History, and International Studies (did Maths last year). I now wish I took more science or maths subjects instead of History and International Studies... Although I'm very much interested in history and politics, I'm not into useless memorisation of dates (history) and I simply despise the establishment propaganda that I have to regurgitate in International Studies.

Physics and Chemistry I ace without studying, but I find English difficult because I can't finish an essay in one hour (give me an essay to do overnight and I'll do it perfectly, if I bother to do it). I actually seem to procrastinate while doing the exam.

[Agent Intellect]

i did terrible in math classes. english, creative writing, journalism i barely had to apply myself and i got B's and up. i think that has more to do with my prior schooling then anything though (i went to a very strange "new age" type elementary and they never taught times tables or anything like that). and i've always been terrible at tests. if they were too long, i just got so bored that i started just guessing (on multiple choice and true/false) without even reading the question, or half assing if i had to write something.

[Jesin]

Originally Posted by zxc

I actually seem to procrastinate while doing the exam.

Eaagh. I know what you mean.

[Decaf]

Originally Posted by zxc

I actually seem to procrastinate while doing the exam.

Its the complete opposite for me. I never get around to studying, but I'm the first one out of the exam room. Every time. Not that how fast I get out is comparable to how well I did, but I just find that once I realize there is absolutely no more time to prepare, I get into my 'just do it' mode. Same thing for when I perceive there being no more time on a project left to spend on anything else but 'doing' the project itself. That's why deadlines help me.

[Jordan~]

I have a habit of not checking things over. I end up doing it, anyway, out of boredom.

[Decaf]

Originally Posted by Jordan~

I have a habit of not checking things over. I end up doing it, anyway, out of boredom.

Ugh... I hate when I can't leave the room after I'm done. When I finish I just want to put it down and walk away. When I have to sit there I fret.

[Rice]

As for me, I almost never study. I complete homeworks we must do, and the job is done. My grades always stand between 90 % and 100 %, except in english->+/- 80%. Studying is boring and troublesome when you have to schedule your time..

[Kronos Zul]

Pretty much the same here, I've never had Test Anxiety.
I've never, ever studied for a test. Ever.
And I almost always get a pretty good score.
Anywhere from the low 80's to the high 90's if I liked the subject.

Although I disliked school, I'm now doing an Alternative High School.
I go once or twice a week, and do large packets of work.
I'm doing much better.

Edit:

I don't know about you guys, but I despise the Subject of English.
I love to read, but I hate writing essays and writing Poetry.
Which of course doesn't help my grades. :(

[Calamedes]

Amen, Krunos. I too never studied, but my grades were destroyed b/c I went to a private school (where studying is essential)... then again, it was mostly b/c i never did my homework. For the longest time, I HATED writing, but I learned to love it. At the very least, I love writing outlines to essays because they help me organize my thoughts on a subject. That's actually how I learned to study: I'd re-outline all my notes and that helped a lot.

[Kronos Zul]

People complain about being taught for the test.
If all I did was test all day, I would have Straight A's/B's. :(

[Taylored]

I cannot say I have ever studied for an exam in my life. At least not in a conventional sense. If I enjoy the subject I study the subject. When it comes time to take an exam, I know the material because it interested me. I do not study simply to pass a test. I know it and I pass or I dropped what ever class I was taking several months before because I was bored with it.

[ChaosTheory]

If I ever remember to study, I do it for like 15 minutes tops and have always gotten mainly B's or A's on tests. I've found studying to be more important in college, but I'll still be lazy and unmotivated to study at all.

[Chronomar]

Don't really study, I just take them, and get As. My sister hates me for this.

[Gorgrim]

Originally Posted by Decaf

Ugh... I hate when I can't leave the room after I'm done. When I finish I just want to put it down and walk away. When I have to sit there I fret.

Yes... indeed ^^

[jamez345]

Originally Posted by alierae

Sometimes, I find that studying only makes me forget. I know it sounds stupid, but really...If I study a lot about a certain subject, it makes me forget the other subjects. I guess it's what you call over-studying?! Also, I don't really need to study something in which I am interested, like you said, Jordan. However, if its something I absolutely hate, I just try to do my best. Cramming something in at the last minute that I didn't get in the first place is pretty useless, especially if I don't like it.

Me to except i have no problem cramming things in last minute while getting good grades. I Don't have to study and I get mid to high 80's. i honestly think i absorb things like a sponge; I like discussing the topic and learning what i did wrong on the spot better. All the teacher has to do is teach it to me have me exercise it and I learn it. And thats a good thing because i hate studying lol.

[Raison D'etre]

I never listen to my teachers and have recently stopped studying as much or at all for most of my subjects. As a result I've been getting...let's just say "really bad grades" this year for science, but still passing so I'm fine with it. The other subjects are also okay I guess. Besides studying, I think the main problem for me is the time limits. I am a bit or shall I say a lot slower than most. My most shameful moments were on a science test which the teacher had to bubble in for me and a math quiz that had a short answer part to it in which I only completed one part of one question. I wonder if the rest of you guys take a long time on tests as well.