Ways of preparing for statistics exams

1. How to study for statistics final exams
Preparing well for exams is one of the key role a student can play especially when it comes to
calculation. Listed in the following are the tips a student can follow to do well in statistical exams. .
Additional materials for exam preparation can be found under the class sessions dedicated to exam
review. Students are encouraged to study very hard in order to do well in their exams.
1. Use distributive practice rather than massed practice. That is, set aside one to two hours at the
same time each day for six days out of the week (Take the seventh day off) for studying statistics.
Do not cram your study for four or five hours into one or two sittings each week. This is a cardinal
principle.
2. Study in triads or quads of students at least once every week. Verbal interchange and
interpretation of concepts and skills with other students really cements a greater depth of
understanding.
3. Don’t try to memorize formulas (A good instructor will never ask you to do this). Remember, later
in life when you need to use a statistical technique you can always look the formula up in a
textbook.
4. Work as many and varied problems and exercises as you possibly can. Hopefully your textbook is
accompanied by a workbook. You can not learn statistics by just reading about it. You must push
the pencil and practice your skills repeatedly.
5. Look for reoccurring themes in statistics. There are probably only a handful of important skills that
keep popping up over and over again. Ask your instructor to emphasize these if need be.
6. Be a Gestalt Psychologist! In other words, recognize that the whole of statistics is greater than the
sum of its parts. It is very easy to get hung up on nit-picking details and fail to see the forest
because of the trees.
7. If you are a victim of math or stat anxiety (Probably 70 % of the general population are) do
something about it! Most universities understand the debilitating nature of this problem and
provide excellent counseling programs for the alleviation of this disability. Do yourself a favor and
get help. This may very well be the best decision you make in undergraduate school.
8. Read the relevant course material before you go to a lecture. So many students go to lectures
unprepared, while there is so much to gain by reading the relevant course material before
attending a lecture. When you go to a lecture without having read anything in advance, all the
information taught during the lecture will be new for you. This will make it extremely difficult to
stay focused the entire time and to not get lost at a certain point. However, when you go to a
lecture prepared, you already know for a large part what the teacher is going to say. This means
you only need to pay full attention sometimes, namely when the teacher covers extra material or
material you didn’t completely get during your preparation. The rest of the time you hear a
(useful) rehearsal of what you already know, so it’s fine to get distracted sometimes. Going to a
lecture prepared will make the lecture much more easy to follow and way more useful for you.
9. Stay on track: Statistics courses always build new knowledge on top of old knowledge. This means
that the further you get behind on schedule, the more mysterious any new course material will
become. Staying on track is therefore an important step towards passing your statistics exam. Is
your schedule telling you it is time to study, but is the pleasure seeker in your brain telling you to
do something more enjoyable? It for sure is more easily said than done, but: don’t give it the
permission to overrule your plan to study. Be determined, walk to your desk, get your books, and

2. start working. Think about how much you want to pass the exam (you don’t want to go through
this for yet another year do you?!), and realize that you won’t pass unless you stick to your
schedule. You are not going to pass if you only start studying three days before the exam.
10. Try to really understand the course material. Some students spend a lot of time reading the course
material, but still fail their exams. This may be because they don’t really understand what they’re
reading. Especially with a subject like statistics, assignments and exams become much easier if
you truly understand why we do things a certain way and what all the different statistics mean.
As a first step, try to carefully follow the reasoning explained in your text book or by your teacher.
If you don’t understand a specific part, ask! Next, explain the different statistical concepts to
yourself or to a friend in your own words. If there is an online discussion forum for your course,
try to answer questions asked by your fellow students. The more you get actively involved with
the course material, the more you will start to understand it.
11. Relate the different topics to one another: Once you understand all the different topics
individually, learn how they relate to one another. What are their differences? What are their
similarities? In which situation should you use one method or formula and in which situation the
other one? Statkat’s overview tables of different statistical methods can be of great help to get
an overview of the different methods and formulas. Select them via the menu or via the method
selection table.
12. Practice: It is almost impossible to pass your statistics exam without practicing. Practicing allows
you to actively, rather than passively, learn the course material. Practice with the exercises
offered by your teacher and with Statkat’s practice questions. Statkat offers exercises for a variety
of methods and all exercises are accompanied with explanations on request, so you never need
to feel lost.
13. Be patient, don’t panic: Learning statistics takes time. Don’t force yourself to learn too much new
course material at once. If you don’t understand a topic the first time you read about it, don’t
panic. It doesn’t mean that you are not smart enough to learn statistics. It only means you need
to invest more time in it. You will get there, step by step. Learn small pieces at a time, and
eventually, pieces will fall into place one by one.
14. Master the Foundational Knowledge: Before you take statistics, it is a good idea to brush up on
the foundational knowledge you’ll need in the course. For example, an algebra course is often a
prerequisite for statistics classes so, if it’s been a while since you’ve taken that course, you may
want to refresh your algebraic skills in advance. You may also need to use a graphing calculator in
statistics so, if you aren’t already familiar with this device.
15. Focus on the Fundamentals: When you break it down, everything you learn in statistics is based
upon a few key fundamental principles. Concentrate on memorizing and mastering those, and
then you’ll be able to apply them to additional concepts as you encounter them. Beyond those
fundamentals, don’t try to memorize as you encounter new concepts. Instead, figure out how the
fundamentals you’ve memorized relate to the new information. Keeping paper and a pencil handy
as you study, so you can test out what you are reading or hearing in lessons, is helpful.
16. Make Time Your best choice: To succeed in statistics, you need to take your time in studying new
concepts, allow time to let them sink in, and don’t give up. Because each new idea you learn in
this course relies upon what you’ve already learned, statistics is not a subject in which to
procrastinate. It may help to form a study group, so you can remain on schedule with your studies
and are able to give and receive support from your peers.

3. 17. Get Help When You Need It: When you’re trying to master a certain topic and, after time and
repeated study, you just can’t grasp it, get help. If you wait until the course has moved on to
new concepts, you run the risk of making a simple problem a major one. A variety of resources
are available to help. These include:
18. Relax: Many students think of statistics as one of the most stressful courses in their academic
careers. If you are one of them, try to step back and relax. The more you stress about the course,
the worse your performance is likely to be. When you feel overwhelmed, check out these short
lessons on Behavioral Strategies for Dealing with Stress and Relaxation Techniques to help you
keep calm and relax.
19. While in Class, Be prepared. Bring paper for notes/quizzes/tests, two writing implements, a
calculator, and your textbook. Be attentive. Your primary focus should be what’s going on in class,
not your cell phone or Facebook newsfeed. Take careful and complete notes. If your instructor
thinks that something is important enough to write on the board, it should be written in your
notes. The examples that are given will help you when you study and work problems on your own.
Write the date and section covered in your notes at the beginning of each class. This will help
when you study for tests. Be respectful of your classmates’ time and ask questions that are
pertinent to the material being covered. (e.g. Why is the number of degrees of freedom one less
than the sample size?) Save questions that pertain only to you (e.g. Why did I get 2 points taken
off for problem number 4?”) for your instructor’s office hours or after class. Don’t feel the need
to cram as much as possible on a page of notes. Leave plenty of room so that you can write your
own comments when you use your notes to study.
20. Outside of Class, be prepared. Math is not a spectator’s sport. You need to practice, practice,
practice by working out problems in the homework assignments. Plan on spending at least two
hours studying and/or doing problems for every 50-minute class session. Read your textbook.
Constantly review what has been covered and read ahead to prepare yourself for class. Get in the
habit of consistently doing work for your courses. Don’t procrastinate. Start studying for your tests
around a week in advance. Spread out work for large assignments. If you have difficulties early on
you can get help more quickly than if you wait until the night before. Utilize office hours. If your
schedule doesn’t match your instructor’s office hours, ask if it is possible to make an appointment
for a different time. When you come to office hours, be ready with specific questions about what
you had trouble with or didn’t understand. Utilize any tutoring services that your college or
university provides. Sometimes these services are offered at no cost to students. Review your
notes constantly. Form study groups or get a study partner in each of your classes. Meet to go
over questions, work on homework, and study for tests. Don’t lose the syllabus or any other
handouts. Hold onto them until after you get your final grades. If you lose the syllabus, go to the
course webpage to get a replacement. If you get stuck on a problem and don’t make progress on
it after 15 minutes, call your study partner and continue working on the rest of the assignment.
Take responsibility. If you know you will miss a test for any reason, let your instructor know as
soon as possible. Purchase the textbook. If you have an older edition of the book, it is your
responsibility – not your instructor’s – to see what that the sections/page numbers mentioned in

4. class correspond within your book. If you are a statistics or math major, strongly consider keeping
your textbooks and don’t sell them back. Your statistics book will be a convenient reference.
Conclusion
Everyday statistics practice helps to brainstorm and prepares students for real time exams.
In sum, statistics is not a subject you learn three days before the exam. You need to invest time in it and
use good learning strategies in order to master it. This may require some discipline, especially if you
couldn’t care less about the subject… However, investing time in learning statistics really pays off in the
end!