A few years ago, a European family approached me, asking to prep their gifted daughter for the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) which is given to international students planning to attend the BioMedical field anywhere in the US and abroad. She came to the US on a furlough for six months.
For a senior student, with just one semester in the US, she was really killing it in school. The student had all A's in her classes and did NOT have much of a learning curve; she had a full load of AP classes here and abroad. This young lady impressed everyoneat her wake, including me.
During our initial meeting, they mentioned her disappointment and worry when her scores substandardly did not reflect what she knew in the three BMAT practice tests she took at home. When I asked if she utilized a timer whenever she took a practice test, she said, "No. I didn't think it was necessary," mainly because she could not complete a practice test with a timer, she decided to forego it.
It is hard to put ourselves under time constraints in anything we do leisurely. Everyone has that issue, whatever our stage in life. Why indeed should we turn on a timer if we "own our time" during breaks and vacations? After all, this is why we have made "time to review," so we can do it at “our own pace.” Right? Well ... Yes. But not really.
All standardized tests have mostly one thing in common: timed exams. Unless a student has special accommodations, students have strict limitations to how long they can process (or mull over) a question. Although typically not a measure of intelligence, it is mostly a measure of what a student knows "at that moment."
Unfortunately, the best way standardized test-makers measure foundational knowledge is to give a time limit on the output of information. Either a student knows the information or doesn't; either the student remembers (or knows) to solve the equation, or doesn't. How one answers effortlessly—or with ease—can usually only be quantified through the burden of shortened time.
Is this fair? Maybe for a specific demographic. Not really for some populations (i.e. special needs). Some students just have a knack for working faster and more efficiently than others. Some just naturally process information faster. It is not uncommon for some average students to score higher than their peers who are above-average than them, merely because they complete the test despite the strain. Some students who have no trouble getting B's or A's in their regular classes have difficulties producing under duress—or merely need to know how to process information under duress. This is not uncommon too. It is one thing not to know the material. It is another thing not to complete the questions efficiently.
Standardized test-taking is mostly a skill: a TIME MANAGEMENT skill. Like any skill, it needs sharpening. To do well on any standardized test (like the SAT, ACT, PSAT, AP, CLEP, or even the BMAT), it's simply not enough to merely know the material. One has to intuit the material well enough to give an answer expeditiously. After all, fluency is measured only by time.
Are you leisurely practicing on or prepping for a standardized test? That does not really work. Any student has to train and practice with a timer all the time—even when you want to do it "on your break." 😉