Clearly mark or indicate the beginning and end of each Strand, Unit, or other material to be tested in your notes. You can use sticky notes, coloured dividers, or title pages. It also helps to compare your notes page-by-page with another student to ensure you both have all the notes in the same/similar order.

Beginning about 4 weeks before the test or exam, create a study schedule. Use a real calendar or make one on the computer and then identify all the days on which you will study a particular topic. Write the title of the topic for each day on the calendar and make sure you have many repeat sessions throughout the entire schedule. Allow at least 1 hour of studying per session (do more if you can, especially closer to the test). If you have more than one test or exam to study for you will definitely need to use a technique like this.

You'll want to have a number of days/sessions to devote to each topic. You might have to miss 1 of those dates because you are too busy or sick or otherwise. But you CAN'T miss more than that. You have to stick as close as you can to the schedule but be a bit flexible towards the date of the test in case you need more time on a particular area.

With a highlighter in hand, begin to read your notes. Highlight titles, headings, and major terms or definitions. Use sticky notes to cover up the names of structures in diagrams so you can practice them. Re-calculate many (or all) problems such as those on the microscope, or density, or whatever. Cover up the solutions and just work from the questions. Read every word of a section in your notes and try to understand and digest every concept. If you are confused about a concept, mark it in your notes and be sure to ask your teacher for help. Don't be surprised if you have a number of concepts you need to clarify with your teacher. But before you necessarily turn to your teacher, try your textbook and the internet. See if you can fill in the gaps of your understanding yourself. If you can, great! If you can't, there's no shame in asking for guidance.

While you are reading your notes, every so often close the notes and try to visualize what you have learned. Try to see the actual notes in your mind but also see if you can explain the main concepts out loud or draw them on paper in rough. I personally don't think you need to make actual "study notes". In my opinion, you should treat your class notes as study notes. You'll be better prepared for the test or an exam if you know ALL of your notes pretty well. If you treat your class notes as study notes and highlight them and put sticky notes in them and really read them over, that's better than making short-version study notes of your own. BUT there's absolutely nothing wrong with making additional (study) notes of your own as long as you ALSO know the class notes. And you have to stick to your study schedule and spend a good amount of time reciting your notes, drawing little sketches, and writing quick definitions or formulas. Take a break and go for a walk and during that time, think about your notes and explain concepts and diagrams to yourself. As you do this you'll find parts that you forget or don't understand. Go back to the notes now and re-read those parts to see if it helps. I bet it will.

Don't despair! It's easy to get frustrated and a little depressed when you are sticking to a busy schedule, especially if you're studying for many evaluations. That's when a schedule is vital! And this is the time when you re-learn all of the stuff you should have learned in the first place...or did learn and forgot. It's going to take some work and it'll hurt somewhat. But after the test, you will come away having performed much better and you will have learned so much. Yes, you will forget much of it in time but in the future you could re-learn it again very quickly and now you know how to study better.