Many teachers employ this strategy when teaching their classes. Instead of providing a well-rounded education, teachers study the previous versions of the standardized test and aim to prepare students to take the exam. Teachers may opt to not teach portions of the subject area that are not likely to be on the exam. Homework and in-class tests will probably feature past versions of the standardized test.
Certain tutoring companies, such as The Princeton Review and Kaplan, offer tutoring programs designed to help students do well on standardized tests. This can be particularly helpful when taking tests to get into college or graduate school. You can take group lessons at the center or you can work one on one with a private tutor.
You can also purchase study guides that cater to specific standardized tests, such as the SAT or ACT. These are often published by the same companies that specialize in tutoring programs, but you can also find unique study guides, such as fiction books that utilize test vocabulary words.
By taking practice exams of the standardized test, you become familiar with the exam and will know what types of questions to expect. Review any answers that you got wrong. While you are not likely to get the same exact question on your exam, there's a good chance that you'll get a similar question that simply uses different numbers.
Sometimes, you don't need help studying for a particular exam, but you need to focus on building your general test-taking abilities. For example, to prepare yourself for the day of a standardized exam, you want to make sure that you get enough rest and that you eat a meal before the exam so that you are not distracted by hunger.