Most students prepare for high-stakes exams the wrong way. For school leaders, that is not just a student problem — it is a teaching and learning one.
Melinda Davis, a senior lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Victoria, argues that the gap between knowing content and performing under exam conditions is wider than most schools acknowledge. A former deputy principal and Head of Teaching and Learning at Xavier College, she spent more than a decade shaping how students were prepared for high-stakes assessment.
Her advice has clear implications for what happens in classrooms well before exam season begins.
“All exams ask you to apply what you know to questions, prompts and examples you may not have seen before,” Davis says. “Put your notes away and explain one of your more challenging topics or concepts to someone who knows nothing about it.”
The shift from passive revision to active retrieval is not something most students make on their own. It is a habit schools need to build deliberately, across subjects and year levels, long before the final term.
The exam tip every student should act on first
One of Davis’s most transferable insights for classroom practice is also her simplest.
“Perhaps the most useful question you can ask yourself is: ‘What do I really hope isn’t on the exam?’ Your answer shows you where you should focus your remaining revision time.”
The question works because it brings up what structured self-assessment is designed for — the gaps students avoid rather than address. Teachers who embed this kind of reflective practice throughout the year give students an invaluable skill.
Why do command terms matter as much as content knowledge?
Davis identifies exam technique as one of the most actionable exam tips for classroom teachers — and one of the most consistently underdeveloped areas of student preparation.
“Pay attention to the command terms in exam questions — such as identify, discuss, analyse and evaluate. Make sure you know the differences between these verbs.”
Schools that treat command term literacy as a whole-year priority, rather than a last-minute addition to exam preparation, give students a structural advantage. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) publishes external assessment reports detailing how students performed in written examinations. Davis recommends them as essential reading, for teachers as much as students.
As explored in coverage of young Australians’ experiences in Year 12, students often feel underprepared for the mechanics of high-stakes assessment. This is true even when their subject knowledge is sound.
Mindset on the day
The school’s role does not end when the exam begins. Davis is clear that physical and mental readiness are part of preparation.
“Get some sleep. Eat properly. Take breaks. The night before an exam is not the time to focus on what you don’t know. This is where mindset becomes critically important.”
Her advice for the exam room is equally grounded. Use reading time fully, answer what you can, and do not let a difficult question derail the rest of the paper.
“Walk into the exam focused on what you can do. If a question throws you, don’t let it derail the rest of the paper.”
Davis is also talked about perspective — something school leaders are well placed to model for students and families alike.
“Year 12 exams matter, but keep them in perspective,” she says. “The outcome of a two-hour exam is not a measure of your worth, intelligence or potential. It is one final step in a twelve-year journey, and the beginning of whatever comes next.”