Brain Cramps or Brain Blank

ricktea

I have heard the terms Brain Cramp and Brain Blank
come up many times. It has happened to me at times.

Can I have some advice on how to Avoid Brain Blank when
sitting down for the test. For example I have tons of information
in my brain now from the previous hardware test I just took.

Now, I am adding more tons of information on top of that in
preparation for my OS test. Does the brain overlap all this
information, does it erase some of the previous information
and place recent information in the forefront ?

What I am asking is, how much information can I squeeze into my
brain until there is no room and I start forgetting things ? Ric

Slowhand

I think the best way to avoid feeling like your head's been drained as you sit for the exam is to make sure you've gotten some time to relax before the test. Either take the day before off, don't do any studying or reviewing, and just do a quick brush-up the morning before the test, or take the morning of the test and just have yourself a nice, relaxing breakfast. The key is to not stress yourself too much, and just try to go into the test as relaxed and confident as possible.

Plantwiz

It's merely an excuse.

If a candidate goes in to an exam prepared with a good understanding of the material and are testing at their level there is nothing preventing from 'not knowing' something.

Rick, you ask far too many questions about fear of 'failing', 'freezing' etc..

Concentrate on learning and not memorizing think I hear an echo
Get yourself some experience and quit rushing the exams.

Slowhand

Plantwiz wrote:

It's merely an excuse.

If a candidate goes in to an exam prepared with a good understanding of the material and are testing at their level there is nothing preventing from 'not knowing' something.

I disagree, I've seen lots of cases, both with IT exams and in 'regular' school, where a test taker has experienced a block. Happens especially frequently with math tests at the high school or college level, where a person who studies and works hard freezes up on the day of the test, and ends up tanking. For this very reason, I've seen a lot of instructors go to students on a case-by-case basis and retest them, if they feel like this particular student conveys knowing the material, but just derailed at the thought of a test.

I'm not saying that everyone who flunks out on a test, everyone who claims to have drawn a blank, truly is just having cold feet about testing. I do think, though, that it's very possible, especially since I've found myself doing the very same thing on some tests. Sometimes, I sit and I stare at that first question, thinking to myself, "What the hell am I doing, now?", for a few minutes before I can really shake it off and get to it.

ricktea

it did happen to me at times, but as you say
you can "shake it off" it is very much to do with
fear. After calming down and getting your
breath, you can maintain your composure again.

gregweb16

Rick,

Don't worry. I was absolutely terrified when I went in to take my hardware test yesterday. I had never taken a certification test before, especially one with so much information to cover. But once I got there, I realized that it really is not that hard or scary and if you put in the time and effort to study, you can and will do well. I freaked out all day on Saturday about not passing and forgetting stuff I learned but it all turned out ok. I think that part of it is confidence. Just keep telling yourself, "You studied hard and you know this stuff!" and you should be fine. Just remember, there is NO replacement for hard core studying.

Greg

Plantwiz

Slowhand wrote:

Plantwiz wrote:

It's merely an excuse.

If a candidate goes in to an exam prepared with a good understanding of the material and are testing at their level there is nothing preventing from 'not knowing' something.

I disagree, I've seen lots of cases, both with IT exams and in 'regular' school, where a test taker has experienced a block. Happens especially frequently with math tests at the high school or college level, where a person who studies and works hard freezes up on the day of the test, and ends up tanking. ....

Wasn't looking for a supporter of my comment, but to continue to discussion, I stand by my comment and will further it that when a person 'KNOWS' the material, they will not 'freeze'.

I've seen too many classmates claim this on higher level math to 'get' out of the test so they could get more time at their frat's test bank. If they took the time to learn the material, they wouldn't be 'cramming' it in their head and would know how to work the problem.

Likewise, a tech who has experience and really understands the material isn't going to 'freeze' They may struggle with a question or two, or three, but they will not be 'frozen' to where they cannot think. This 'freezing' response is clearly from someone who isn't prepared and instead of taking the exam as a true measure is only focused on Passing.

I know several dyslexic people as well as have family who teach (severe) dyslexic and special needs students...there is a difference between a student who isn't prepared for school/exams/work vs. someone who learns differently.

IT certification exams....and mind you, in this case we are looking at A+ not the higher-level Cisco (more years of experience) type of exams...we are looking at A+....there is no logical reason to take an exam if one thinks they 'freeze'.
1. they're setting themself up to fail with the mentality ("I freeze on exams")...say it and it will happen.
2. It's A+...if a person desires to work in IT and struggles with entry-level troubleshooting, OS and hardware....they need more time. The exams just don't get easier then this exam
3. There is just too much talent in the marketplace right now (in our area) to take someone who merely passes an exam over someone with real experience and know-how.


And if an exam candidate really truely has a problem with exams....well the first part is identifying the problem....Problem has been identified as 'difficulty taking exams'. Once that has been determined, fix it. If in college or high school...get with a guidance counselor and work on it. If out of school, maybe visit your old guidance counselor, find a job placement office, etc... and work on those skills. But if a person can go around and say "They freeze on exams" and refuse to get beyond that statement...it's an excuse, period.

gregweb16

I'd have to agree with Plantwiz. There is no reason to "freeze" on the exam. If you study and know the material, you'll probably pass. If you don't study or cram the night before, you'll probably fail. Of course there are some special circumstances I suppose if someone is just not good at test taking or just always gets nervous. But test taking is a totally separate skill and one that is not included on the A+ objectives [/quote]

ricktea

I would agree that if you are properly prepared than if you
can control the initial fear of the test and get beyond the first
few difficult questions as I did. The brain fog starts to lift.
I have no doubt whatsoever that many students have used
this and hundreds of other excuses to be excused from exams.

Fear can be very paralyzing though, even if you are fully prepared
for a test. Not unlike getting in front of an audience already having
your lines fully practiced and rehearsed, but then suddenly become
speechless and forgetting your lines., as actors do sometimes. The
fear that can make people almost lose control of their bodily functions
can easily paralyze their thought and concentration on an exam.

Slowhand

Plantwiz wrote:

I've seen too many classmates claim this on higher level math to 'get' out of the test so they could get more time at their frat's test bank. If they took the time to learn the material, they wouldn't be 'cramming' it in their head and would know how to work the problem.

I think you're reading a little too much into my answer, there. I didn't suggest anyone cram the night before, (in fact, I recommended taking the night before off and relaxing.) As for people going off and cheating, they're not so much freezing as not able to memorize test answers. I definately wouldn't recommend that, either.

EdTheLad

I dont believe in brain blocking either.
Have you ever sat an exam in school and couldnt remember your name to put on top of the paper?Or how long the duration of the exam was?Or where you are and the importance of the exam?I think not!
If you cram you can forget,if you understand you wont forget.If you understand mostly but there is a little bit of crucial info you crammed you can forget and give the impression you had a brain freeze or whatever you like to call it.
How many olympic swimmer have you heard of drowning in the pool? Under the pressure of competition do they forget how to swim? If your learn and understand something well, it becomes second nature, you dont forget.

Slowhand

Never heard of Olympic athletes forgetting how to run or forgetting how to swim. I've heard of plenty that have choked, though, and not done as well as they'd hoped or had been expected to do. Even ones that consistently win. For any type of athlete, it's a very common thing. I'm sure if you ask a guy like Tiger Woods, he'll tell you all about twisted putts that come from nowhere, when he should have been under par. I'm not saying that cheaters should be given a second chance because they claim they choked, or that people who cram should be able to retake tests after more and more last-minute cramming. I do think, though, everyone can have an off-day, and not everyone deals with pressure well enough to recover right there on the spot.

EdTheLad

Yep,atheletes may choke but that will be the sprinters due to milliseconds count,but you dont hear about marathon runners choking.Tiger wood doesnt hack every ball on the course,one bad shot and he can lose.
The fact is the exams are usually 1.5hrs long,enough time to recover from nerves and get a low but passing score.If every exam needed a passing score of 95-100% you could take nerves and stress into account. Since most cert exams require around 75% mark there is no excuse to fail, apart from not knowing the material well enough.
Anyway, we could discuss back and forth all day but i wouldnt want a choker working for or with me,sometimes being in front of the customer is a hell of alot more stressful than an exam so maybe the so called chokers should find a new profession.

Webmaster

ed_the_lad wrote:

if you understand you wont forget

To quote the famous Rex Hunt: "That's what's fishing is all about."

johnnyg5646

i know when I sat for the Network+ exam, i had a brain freeze on the dumbest thing. I couldn't remember the OSI model. I knew it backwards and forwards for months. The problem was, i got myself so worked up abuot passing that I just chocked up. Luckily after being into the test for a little while I began to relax and I remembered. It was really stupid of me. I remember sitting in the testing center telling myself I was an idiot, because I knew the material but just got to worked up over passing. Sometimes the human body has a weird way of reacting to stress. I passed the exam, so clearly I knew the material. But for a while there I did forget some basic information due to the pressure I put on myself to pass.

I do agree that if you know the material it shouldn't be an issue. But, you can't deny the fact that being overly nervous about the exam can have it's affect on you as well. I think the only remedy for having brain freezes, is to be as prepared as possible.

just my two cents

deneb829

Wow, this is a hot topic.

I do believe that people freeze up when they go to take tests, but I also agree that not knowing the material will increase your chances of brain freeze.

The entire week before I took the exam, I did nothing but review questions and exam sims - I feel when you are ready to take the test, it's time to stop learning the material and start reviewing it. If you don't know the material, you really need to push your test date back.

On both exams, I scheduled the test for a Friday and starting on the previous Monday, I did nothing but review questions.

On friday, when I sat for the test, it was obvious that I was taking the real thing. I was super stressed when I sat for my first MCP exam, the 70-290 and plenty nervous for my 70-270. I just relaxed into the question answering mode that I had been in for that entire week. I read the first question a few times and took few deep breaths and just did it.

Plantwiz

I'll throw an new comment out that hasn't been discussed on this matter....


So what happens in real life if you 'freeze'? Do you go to your job site and explain to the client that well....you're just so nervous you cannot think, but if they could reshedule it...then you'll handle it at a later date?

NO WAY!

Do you tell your boss that you cannot handle your internal network because the AD material you read last night to handle the task today has made you so nervous you cannot remember how to even log in?

Come on...while nerves and stress are things that can happen if we allow them to, by the time you are an adult if you haven't developed skills/tools/ways to handle stress in your life...you are in a heap of trouble.

It's an excuse on an exam, period. And as someone commented...you don't need 100% to pass...you need an approximate average of 70-80% depending on the exam...this allows for nerves, mis-read questions, and some guesses.

If you tell yourself you'll fail or get nervous you will. And if IT makes you that 'nerverous' then consider another profession, because the way things are progressing, one needs to be able to research, read, test, practice, mess-up, fix, move on to be successful.

jojopramos

You've prepared for months and you know that on that day you'll be taking your exam means that you are already prepared to take it, Impossible to have brain blank (freezing mind).... C'mmon, if you studied it well, there is no way that you will be experiencing brain blank....Its just an excuse.....

The only thing that there is in a cert exam is Passed (you know) or Failed (you dont know)

Slowhand

I think we're going off on tangents, here. I see people talking about failing consistently and blaming it on brain freezing or choking, and that's not what I'm trying to explain, here. I'm talking about an event that happens, legitimately, once or twice in a lifetime. If you're failing on a regular basis and blaming it on choking up, then you're full of it. If it happens on one test, one time, and you're doing well in most other cases, then it was probably nerves that got the best of you.

Does choking up exist? Absolutely. Does it mean that when Michael Jordan would miss a game-winning three-pointer that he doesn't know how to play basketball? No. When he had an off-game and it just seemed like he was in a funk, did it mean that he should go back and learn the basics? No. All it meant was that he had a couple of bad days, here and there, in an otherwise great career.

If you're fortunate enough to have it happen on a test, rather than on a real-world jobsite, then you're lucky. If it happens during something important. . . well, you're just going to have to see how well you recover. I agree, a lot of people use this excuse as a way to cruise through things, and I can't condone that. If you're on your game 99% of the time, and you screw up and should have known better, it's definately not "just an excuse".