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The Importance of “Learning Questions” in SAT Test Prep
By charles | May 19, 2009
One question I’m asked sometimes about The Laugh Out Loud Guide is whether or not one should be concerned that the real SAT exam is so much more boring than the comedic questions found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
The short answer is not only a big fat NO, but even stronger than that — the test prep process will actually be enhanced with the comedic questions in the mix.
To explain why, here’s the longer answer:
There’s a difference between test questions and what I call learning questions. A test question is simply that — a question that tests your knowledge. A learning question, on the other hand, goes way beyond that to help you learn the material and retain your knowledge.
Test questions are the boring official questions students need to answer correctly on test day, but that doesn’t mean the entire study process should consist of ONLY test questions. In fact, test questions are almost by design not memorable and are therefore less effective in the learning phase because they’re so boring.
A smarter approach would be to include some learning questions within the study process. These learning questions would be more memorable so that you could learn the overall concepts more effectively and remember them better. And then you’d be able to continue and complete the study process by moving to the test questions, applying the same concepts you just learned.
Let’s consider an example. Consider a boring official test question that tests your knowledge of the word corpulent. If you already know the meaning of the word, you’ll get the question right and be happy with yourself. But what if you don’t know what the word means yet? In that case, the test question won’t effectively help you learn and remember what the word means. The test question is boring and you’ll forget it very quickly.
On the other hand, let’s look at the following learning question found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide:
Yo Momma so _______, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
(A) diaphanous
(B) luminous
(C) ravenous
(D) grisly
(E) corpulent
I guarantee you won’t soon forget what the word corpulent means. And now the next time you see a boring official test question that requires you to know the meaning of that word, you’ll be able to apply what you learned in the learning question to correctly answer the test question.
To write this as an equation:
Learning Questions + Test Questions > Test Questions
In other words, a test prep plan that includes both learning questions and test questions is better than one that is made up entirely of test questions.
Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.
The other benefit to including some learning questions in the study process is that funny learning questions are more effective at getting a person started. Many students are simply handed one of those massive study guides and it’s no surprise that they have a tough time getting started because it’s so massive and boring. If there’s a book that gets you interested and started well along the process, that’s half the battle right there.
Now, yes, if a student completely misuses The Laugh Out Loud Guide, going straight from it to the actual test on test day, then they’ll be in for a bit of a shock with respect to how boring the real test is — but the book explicitly guides students on that point so that should never happen. Students who DO listen to the book’s guidance will enjoy a much more enhanced study process than if they use boring test questions and ONLY boring test questions.
It’s the same with teachers — the really boring ones aren’t as effective as they can be, and similarly if every single piece of reading and teaching is goofy then it’s too much and that would be wrong too, but if the overall lesson plan includes both boring and entertaining elements, then that’s the most effective approach of all.
My feeling is there are a spectrum of students and The Laugh Out Loud Guide will be used differently depending on the student. Some students will start with The Laugh Out Loud Guide and work through it completely before moving on to other books and official practice tests. Others won’t use The Laugh Out Loud Guide in any primary way, but will use it instead as comic relief during study breaks. In other words, even while taking a study break, they’ll be learning something. I think both uses are perfectly legitimate — every student is different — but in either case, the student’s learning process is being enhanced by including The Laugh Out Loud Guide in the mix. The book is not meant to totally replace — it is meant to enhance.
So that’s the long answer. If you’re really serious about achieving a higher SAT score, then you need to add some learning questions to your test prep mix, and the best way to do that is with The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
Good luck on the test!
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