Excellent reading. This book helped me to focus not only on academic tests, but also in various situations of my life. It is amazing how a simple tip such as “don’t forget to breathe” could make all the difference in my performance. Dr. B hits the nail on the head when describing all the rollercoaster of emotions that a GMAT, GRE, LSAT and other standardized tests can cause in a student.  I particularly enjoyed the exercises and recommend this book for anyone.

I’m particularly glad the reader picked up on how the book applies to a whole host of tests as well as life situations. Isn’t the “rollercoaster of emotions” she references something we all experience, at some point, every day?

Life is full of tests, some big, some small. To know that THE WORKBOOK is truly helping someone is very gratifying indeed.

Please send in your thoughts, comments and questions about the tests you are facing. I look forward to responding to them.

For the Google Books review see:
http://books.google.com/books?id=HOZwPgAACAAJ&dq=Test+Success+Ben+Bernstein&ei=331FS_7mNanUkgSJ7JztDQ&client=firefox-a&cd=1

For the Amazon reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Workbook-Test-Success-Confident-Focused/product-reviews/098199590X/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

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Karen Bryant, who mentors students even after graduation, said she credits the success of the program to a relationship built on trust and respect with her students. Many of the students have remained friends of Bryant over the years.

In the ‘confidence’ leg of my 3-legged stool performance model I explore into the relationship between ‘trust’ and ‘confidence.’

The word confidence is made up of two Latin roots: con, meaning ‘with,’ and fidelis, which means ‘faith’ or ‘trust.’ A confident person has faith in herself and trusts that she can accomplish the task.

Fidelis has an additional meaning, and that is loyalty. We can interpret this to mean that a confident person is also loyal to herself. When she’s taking a test and the questions are hard she doesn’t jump ship. She believes she can work it out and stays with the process right to the end.

If you struggle with self-confidence, you probably have the opposite feeling when you take tests. When the going gets rough you feel like you want to bolt. I can’t do this, I’m out of here.

Wanting to bolt creates a problem because it means your attention isn’t fully present. It’s on its way out the door, you might say. Your mind, like your body and your spirit, is a key player on your “Team of Three.” You mind has to play its part so that you can win. You need your mind to stand by you, to support and encourage you through thick and thin, not turn against you and undermine the process. When your mind is yelling, “Let me out of here!” it is a way of abandoning you which we can certainly call a form of disloyalty. You have to train it to be loyal, to have faith in your ability and to trust that you can do the job well.

In other words, you have to know you can count on your mind.

Here’s a helpful tip to train your mind.

Your self-evaluating, talk-radio mind has two sides, positive and negative. On the positive side you are broadcasting approving and encouraging messages about yourself: I can do it. I’ve got what it takes. I am smart enough. The negative side sends out disapproving, discouraging, self-defeating noises: I can’t possibly succeed. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not going to make it.

Now, how do you tune into this positive side?  Start with this: what are your initials? Mine are BBB. I live in California. If I put K in front of BBB, I get KBBB. If I lived east of the Mississippi I would put a W in front of my initials and get WBBB.  Now you do it.  What do you get?  What does that sound like?  You got it: a radio station.  Your radio station.

Your mind has a 24/7 personal talk radio that is sending positive messages to you. You can count on it. Just don’t flip the dial. And if you hear noises, chatter and static, fine tune the receiving frequency. The voice of your spirit is always there to guide you.  Always.

Let me know how your personal talk-radio is working.

Nieves Stiker, an educator involved in GED test prep classes in Pennsylvania said. “Some people come to us and feel very adequate within a couple of weeks while others, no matter how hard they study, it’s harder. Sometimes, it takes more than one try.”

In my performance model – the three-legged stool — focus is a critical leg. Without it you cannot achieve any measure of success. In other words, you will not get anywhere in life.

In regard to testing, focus is a noun  and a verb. There is a goal of scoring well on the test, and there is work toward that goal.

Being focused is, ultimately and intimately, linked to a powerful source in you-your spirit. Think of your spirit as your power generator. It produces the energy that sparks every one of your achievements.

I hope GED test takers read Chapter Six: How to Stay Focused.

Here’s a pointer. While the goal of doing well in GED seems large and overwhelming to many, remember this: any goal can be broken down into small, manageable chunks. These are action steps. Action steps break up the process of achieving a goal into do-able increments. I use the simple SMART formula to make action steps work.

Specific. Your goal is precise and well defined.

Measurable. You can gauge whether you’ve reached it or not.

Adjustable. You can adapt or modify it if you need to.

Realistic. Your goals are attainable given your available time, energy and resources.

Time-based. Whatever goal you set is linked to the clock or calendar.

Whether you are a GED test-taker or teacher, I’d like to hear from you.

You might be interested in the article about the GED test-takers.

I’m on my way to New Orleans to speak at a conference for the Coalition for Essential Schools Conference, a group of progressive educators across the country. My talk is  MAKING TESTING EMPOWERING.  I speak on Friday. Keep you posted.  In the meanwhile, GED’ers– keep empowering yourselves!