Check it out

No matter what kind of academic test you’re facing, you can boost your

chances of making the grade with help from library resources.

For fourth- through sixth-graders, 300 top high school students offer

tips for successfully preparing for tests and handling homework in

“Surviving Homework.”

Covering everything from dealing with boredom to memorizing lists, this

compendium of study secrets is written in a zippy style and features

lively cartoons that make its good sense highly palatable to younger

students.

Comprehensive guidance for effective learning is offered in “Where

There’s a Will There’s An ‘A,”’ a series of books, videos and cassettes

for students in grade school, high school and college. From dealing with

dyslexia to mastering memory skills, this motivational program, developed

by Arizona State University professor Claude Olney, offers myriad tools

for anyone facing scholastic pressures.

There’s a chapter devoted to taking tests, from midterms and finals to

PSATs and LSATs, in “Ron Fry’s How to Study Program.” This guide to

building study skills also includes tips for organizing study time,

excelling in class and writing reports and papers.

Young adolescents will find information on goal-setting, decision-making

and becoming a better test-taker in “The Junior High Survival Manual.” In

addition, there are suggestions for improving personal integrity and

social success in chapters focusing on making friends, improving

relationships and handling peer pressure.

For high school students preparing for advanced placement exams, numerous

volumes published by the Research and Education Assn., Barron’s and The

Princeton Review concentrate on American and European history, physics,

English literature and other specific subjects. Many feature full-length

model tests, essay tips and practice questions with answers and

explanations.

Also aimed at the college-bound are “10 Real SATs,” “SAT & PSAT” and

other works from The College Board and Kaplan Educational Centers that

provide strategies, practice tests and test-taking concepts aimed at

boosting college entrance test scores.

For exams testing verbal and language skills, “601 Words” includes word

lists, definitions and fascinating information on word origins and

changing usage.

For a more irreverent approach, check out “Up Your Score, The Underground

Guide to the SAT,” written by six students who scored more than 1500 on

this critical test. In addition to tips for thinking like SAT writers,

maintaining concentration, honing speed and being a good guesser, there’s

insider college admission advice, relaxation techniques and advice on the

fastest way to fill in the answer ovals in this strategy guide with

attitude.

Beyond tests, scholastic campuses can be minefields of social and

academic stress. To navigate them safely, consider solutions offered in

“Help! My Teacher Hates Me,” a collection of tips for moral, academic and

social quandaries -- from cheating and teacher woes to slipping grades

and sports anxieties.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library.

This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with Terri

Wiest.