A practice exam is a type of study aid that is designed to present an individual with a series of unique questions related to the same material as a particular examination. In other words, it is an exam that allows an individual to test him- or herself on similar material to that which is actually covered on a specific exam, prior to taking that exam. A practice exam is almost always designed to present this information in a similar format to the exam for which it is designed to help the individual study. The format of the questions that are included on a specific practice exam depends primarily on the format of the questions included on the actual exam and, as a result, a practice exam may include multiple-choice questions, essay questions, short-answer questions, and a variety of other similar types of questions. Practice exams will not have exactly the same questions as the actual exam, but each practice exam is designed to be as similar as possible to the actual exam.
Practice exams can be extremely useful study tools as they allow an individual to use a study aid that presents material that is similar to what is on a specific examination in a similar fashion. However, a practice exam is not only designed to help an individual study material covered on a particular exam, but also to help the individual study the test format, practice time management techniques, study the types of questions included on a particular exam, and help with a variety of other testing concerns. As a result, a practice exam is simply a study aid that is designed to help an individual prepare for an examination primarily by helping the individual learn the setup of the test, the material covered on the test, and helping the individual practice test-taking techniques related to taking a test similar to the actual examination.