Can You Learn How to Pass the DMV Permit Test?

Understand How You Learn

Can you learn how to pass the DMV permit test, even though you perform poorly on tests in general?

The answer is yes! It is not as complicated as you might think.

Most students who perform poorly on tests have a slow processing speed. With a slow processing speed, a test situation creates anxiety, and it is easy to give up. You feel that you are not going to make it anyway.

When you need more time than other students to absorb, make sense of, and respond to information, you should accept that fact.

Don’t compare yourself with others. Try not to feel stressed when others finish and you are just halfway through a test. Focus on the task at hand and use the allotted time. Everything else can wait.

Your Private Internet

Think of your brain as a private internet – where links connect everything. You access knowledge stored in your brain by following these links. You gain knowledge by reflecting on new things and linking them to things you already know. The more links one fact has – the more likely you retain it. It is like popular websites in a Google search result.

Work actively with new facts and relate them to facts you are already familiar with. This way, your brain will quickly build up a private web of facts. The broader your general knowledge base is, the easier it is to digest and retain new information.

The key is to be actively involved when you read, see, or hear things. Stop and think for a second or two. Is this familiar? Does it remind you of something? Would it share a hashtag with something else?

Researchers say you should relate new information to people, places, music, or feelings. And it is actually a good idea. The more personal a piece of fact is to you, the more likely you are to remember it.

Back to the DMV Permit Test

You don’t like to read a handbook if you have a slow processing speed. It just takes too long, and you will give up on it more than once. That is probably why you searched for a website like this. You want fast answers without putting too much effort into it, right?

While these tests give you all the answers you need, memorizing them is no guarantee of success on the DMV permit test. Most of us find isolated phrases or pieces of information difficult to retain. In addition, if you put them in the wrong context, you will likely get facts mixed up or even wrong.

Cheat sheets won’t do the trick either. You assume that knowing the answers is enough, and you don’t use the information to challenge your brain.

How to Work with the Online DMV Permit Practice Test

As a slow “processor,” take your time. Don’t rush through the practice test. Take one question at a time. Try to be active. Can you find the question and the answer in the DMV driver handbook or driver’s manual? Keep the handbook handy and use it to look up questions and answers. Connect information with images.

Ask yourself questions. Where are you likely to see certain road signs, and why? Why are specific laws and rules in place? What would happen if we didn’t have them? Picture yourself in driving situations. How should you react and why? Create inner images. Relate facts to something you experienced – but be careful not to add information to questions that aren’t there.

You should also make sure you distinguish between facts and your own preconceived opinions.

Some examples:

Using a cell phone while driving is always unsafe. You probably think that it is prohibited under all circumstances. But it isn’t. The use is restricted in many ways, but not prohibited in any state. Look up the rules in your state!
A driver and all passengers in a car must always be buckled up. The truth in many states is that they should, but it may not be required by law. In many states, only front-seat passengers must use a seat belt. Reflecting on things like this will help you to remember safe driving practices much easier.

Getting Ready for the Real Thing

When you prepare for the DMV permit test, you should spend plenty of time on each practice test. It forms a habit that you should keep on the real test. Read everything twice. Don’t jump to conclusions based on memorized answers. Analyze questions and all choices very carefully. Again, focus on the task at hand and use the allotted time. Everything else can wait.

You will pass if your mind is set on passing.

Available Practice Tests

Missing a DMV permit test for your state? You can find additional practice tests for all states at Driver’s Prep: Your DMV Practice Test