READ & RE-READ everything. Look at & study every picture, diagram, table, caption, graph and/or figure. If there are any of these items with your question, THEY ARE THERE FOR A REASON-STUDY THEM AGAIN & AGAIN.

UNDERLINE & UNDERSTAND the question that is being asked. DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE ASKING. Read the question again to make sure.

BREAK down the question. Put a Bracket [ ] around key words. Focus on words that are unfamiliar to you. Any word in which you are not sure about, search for clues in the information provided, including the pictures and tables, etc. ALL OF THESE THINGS MAY HELP YOU FIGURE OUT UNFAMILIAR WORDS AND CONCEPTS.

IDENTIFY key concepts-INTEGRATE THE KEY WORDS WITH PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES. Try to think of a prior learning experience where this was discussed or put into action, such as in science lab, science fair projects, field trips, etc.

ELIMINATE the wrong answer choices. Usually one or two choices can be eliminated because they are obviously not the right answer; however, it is just as important to know and understand why the choices are wrong. "Because it is wrong" or "Because we learned it in class" or "Because the teacher told us" ARE NOT REASONS THAT ANSWER CHOICES ARE WRONG!!! When you have narrowed your choices down to two, start analyzing the question, the pictures, and try to recall a lab experience.  Look at every word to help you decide which the better choice is.

SELECT the correct answer and/or solve the problem. Ask yourself, "Is this the best choice?" "Have I eliminated the wrong choices?" After you are certain that you have done all of the above steps, then SELECT THE CORRECT CHOICE AND BUBBLE YOUR ANSWER

(adapted from a workshop).

RUBIES
http://www.rubies-scientific.com/company_info/rubies_info/rubies.htm

"RUBIES is a critical thinking based test taking strategy for the Science TAKS test.  You may wish to take a look at our section on teaching critical thinking in the classroom before you look through this section on the RUBIES TAKS strategy."