I would say everyone is split on whether or not to stick with your first answer, or if it is okay to go back and change it. Even though first answers are often correct, you shouldn’t be afraid to change your original answer if, upon reflection, it seems wrong to you.

Dozens of studies over the past 70 years have found that students who change dubious answers usually improve their test scores.

For example, a May, 2005, study of 1,561 students taking exams found that when students changed their answers

  • they went from wrong to right 51% of the time
  • right to wrong 25% of the time
  • wrong to a different wrong answer 23% of the time

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Jason Collier

Founder, CertFX.com