Are mock tests overhyped for banking exams?

As an aspirant, you have to make many choices during the course of your preparation. Such choices range from choosing a coaching institute, reference books, and a distinguished newspaper for current affairs and English. Also, sooner or later, you have to make a decision regarding the mock test series. Of course, many students are self-learners or don’t wish to depend on anyone for their preparation, but mock tests aren’t something that even these kinds of aspirants tend to ignore.   

So, do mock tests really matter? Are they really beneficial in both the long and short term? And are they overhyped in the aspirant’s community?  

These are some of the most common questions people have when choosing or deciding if they need to take mock tests. If you have such questions, read this article until the very end to find all your answers.   

You have given mock tests earlier, and you just don’t know about it  

Yes, you have been taking mock tests all your life, but you don’t have a conscious awareness about the same. You don’t realise it because those tests you gave weren’t labelled as mock tests.   

All the tests you ever toook before your final exams in schools or colleges are all nothing but specially designed mock tests. You must have given pre-board examinations in your high school. What were they?  

An examination was conducted to prepare students for the actual XII board examinations. Isn’t it?  

All the unit tests you ever took prepared you on how to approach and take tests of the future.   

But name anyone single test IBPS or SBI or even RBI would take before their actual examination!?  

Is there any pre-SBI clerk or pre-SBI PO exams conducted?   

Absolutely not. So, what is an option available for you in such a situation?  

The one and only mock tests. The moment you start looking at mock tests from this perspective, you will start to realise the unfathomable importance of such a mock test series.   

Now, let’s look at some of the most comprehensive benefits which mock tests can provide to an aspirant:  

 Mock tests give you a real-life and a real-time experience  

Bruce Lee never feared a man who could make 10,000 different fighting moves but definitely feared the man who has practiced one same move 10,000 times.   

When you get a real-time experience during a mock test, you are actually taking a real test just like you would give it at the examination center one day. So just ask a simple question to yourself here.  

Would you be the aspirant who goes to the examination center and will get the feeling of taking that test for the first time, or would an aspirant who leaves their home feel that I have already taken these 50 or 100 times?  

Of course, you want to be the second one unless you think you are a master who can crack the exam without knowing what it feels like to take an actual exam with the baggage of time limit, tidy emotions, etc.   

Pressure is a funny thing. It can make you take minutes to solve questions you usually solve within seconds at the comfort of your home. But, with mock tests, you can surpass that pressure.   

Research and Evidence-based data suggests Mock Tests Make a Huge Difference  

A study done by Washington University on “Test-enhanced learning” showcased that taking memory tests improves long-term retention.   

The abstract of the study mentioned this – “Taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. We studied this effect with educationally relevant materials and investigated whether testing facilitates learning only because tests offer an opportunity to restudy material. In two experiments, students studied prose passages and took one or three immediate free-recall tests, without feedback, or restudied the material the same number of times as the students who received tests. Students then took a final retention test 5 min, 2 days, or 1 week later.

When the final test was given after 5 min, repeated studying improved recall relative to repeated testing. However, on the delayed tests, prior testing produced substantially greater retention than studying, even though repeated studying increased students’ confidence in their ability to remember the material. Testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.”  

The above study proves mock tests make a significant difference in both the long and short term.  

Conclusion  

The points mentioned above hardly need a conclusion today. It’s time for you to take massive action. Sign-up for a free mock test today if you haven’t already.   

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Still, have some doubts about what we discussed in this blog? Then, leave your queries in the comment section below. We will surely respond to them.  

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