Before studying, you may wish to take a practice test. These practice tests (available at sites like Pattan.net) are either old PSSA tests or emulations. These tests will give you a good feel for how a PSSA test reads and what kind of information that you will be tested on with the PSSA test. Time yourself taking the test to see how well you do. Grade yourself and see where you need improvement. This will help you focus your studies on areas where you are weaker in your knowledge. If you wish, you can have your parents grade your practice test so you can retake the test to improve your score.
One of the major mistakes students make when studying for a test is to wait until the last minute and then cram. Cramming is effective for retaining information for a very short period of time. It may work for chapter tests or quizzes, but there is too much information covered in the PSSA to cram. Instead, study every day. Two months before the test, start studying. Use the information you got from your practice test to focus on areas in which you need improvement. Break your studying down into two- or three-hour periods. Focus on one aspect of the test every week. Study only a chapter or two worth of information every day. Retain it into your memory using flash cards and pop quizzes. The information you have studied so thoroughly will be retained in your mind much longer.
Scholastic advises students to focus strongly on math story problems when they’re taking the PSSA. There will be many kinds of math problems in the PSSA, but math story problems test both your reading comprehension and your math ability. This makes them a favorite of standardized test givers. However, they are often hated by students. Focus much of your math studying on math problems. Look into your math textbooks and find story problems you didn’t do. Make a list and do five or six math story problems every day during your math studying period. Once you’re done, check your results. If necessary, have your parents make up story problems for you to use so you can try new story problems.