speed and accuracy in test taking - a 2x2 matrix analysis

As we've mentioned in a few places before, in any assessment test, whether numerical, data interpretation, verbal, cognitive, psychometric - it doesn't matter - you are tested on both speed and accuracy.

Do you manage to do most questions and do you manage to do them right?

Keeping the eye on speed and accuracy when you do your practice tests is an important thing. You can (and should) see how you do progressively on both these measures. In the end, it can be nicely captured in a simple 2 x 2 matrix.

The speed and accuracy 2x2 matrix for test performance assessment

Therefore, if you don't yet belong to the 'star' level, you need to systematically breakdown your weaknesses. It's not that hard. The fairly common way to practicing is

1. Do test
2. See result
3. Check answers (curse, pretend you 'knew' but did something else, ignore...)
4. Move on

Instead, what you should be doing is

1. Do test

2. See result

3. Check answers

4. Analyze your weakness - what are you doing poorly on?

5. Formulate a plan for your next test - address your weakness and see how that works

6. Repeat

From our experience, it's being conscious of the fact that many of your peers will be ill prepared and therefore you make the best of it.

Within numericalguru , the dashboard shows your speed and accuracy performance -pay attention to it and see how you can do better. In the sample test series below,

here - accuracy is how many of those you attempted did you get right?
and correctness is how many of the total questions did you answer right?

so, in a test of 50 questions, you attempt 10 and get 9 right, your accuracy is 90% but your correctness is 18%, which is rather awful.

What's obvious here is that in some of the tests the accuracy is high but speed is low - indicating either slow calculations or obsession to correctness. Things got a bit better in the end :)