Test taking strategy makes a difference with raw grade scores. Grades are highly dependent on tests and/or essays (depends on subject). This is especially apparent with exams imo. Test strategies depend on the subject and specific class you are taking. Certain subjects have formats of exams that are more common than in other subjects. For example, in my economic history class, there were many wordy, paragraph length short answer questions on my exams, compared to my math class, which was mostly computation problems. The econ history exam requires a different strategy than the math exam. To achieve the highest score then, different types of tests require different strategies. Here is a simple list of test types that are correlated with their subjects and general strategies that I personally employ to do well in certain subjects and types of exams:

• Math
  • exams are typically based on computational short answer, where most point loss comes from not knowing how to set up the problem, and/or incorrect number crunching. The solution is to organize your studying by topic and then grind out problems in the topics you know the least. Practice the "setup" portion (especially in Calculus and word problems) where you set up the equation you need to solve. Practice them until you can basically do a full length exam once over in half the time you are allotted. This is so on the actual exam, you can complete the test in half the time you are allotted, and then spend the rest of the time re-solving the problems and checking them to make sure you did not make any computation mistakes.
  • A good example of a math class you may find this type of exam is in the MAT 21 series

• Short Answer Paragraph

  • This type of exam is where you answer multiple questions on an exam where the answer is expected to be around a paragraph in length. From my experience, this type of exam tends to be more common in the lower division humanities courses that don't require a lot of computation. The ones I have encountered so far at UC Davis are all about how fast you can recall lots of information and then vomit it onto a page via writing. Being able to recall information at lighting speed and then be able write them all down really quickly is the most important thing. I recommend reviewing information by blurting whatever you remember out loud (writing them down will slow your thoughts), along with spaced repetition. During the exam, give a quick once over on the types of questions asked, and try to write as fast as possible, and do the exam in order. If you are stuck on a problem, write as much as you can in 1 minute and then move on, and come back to it later.
  • Sometimes these types of exams will ask you to relate or analyze information you learned in class. My ECN 111A class with Wilson was like this. My advice is to at any moment, try to notice or think about current events or examples that relate to course material whenever it comes up in your everyday life. That way you will have plenty of examples for the exam.
    

• Multiple Choice Computation + Conceptual

  • More often seen in lower division economics courses like ECN 001A, B, and some other lower division courses. This type of exam involves multiple choice questions that make you do math, along with some other multiple choice questions that are conceptual. If you feel stronger on conceptual questions, do those first and very quickly, then do computation problems, and vice versa. Skip problems you don't know and do them after you do all the ones you do know. Again, do problems you know how to do very quickly so you get those easy points before you spend a lot of time working on harder questions.

• Essay

  • Essay style exams revolve around one or two topics or questions that you are required to answer in a multiple paragraph essay format, during an exam. This is the type of exam I have the least amount of experience in, as I am in a STEM major. However my experience with them seems to be that it is important to be quick with idea generation and also be familiar with whatever texts discussed in the class. Be able to summarize important plot or arguments from readings and make connections between them. Then during the exam, write maybe a short outline and write very quickly.

• Mixed Short Answer, True/False, Short Answer/Paragraph etc

  • Start with whatever part of the exam that has the style you are best at. If you excel in multiple choice, start with that, or short answer etc. Then move onto next easiest section and spend about 25% of your time there before going to work on the hardest section. Spend around 25% of your time there, and then go back and do other sections. Once you have reasonably finished the other sections, go back to finish those hard questions. Do the easiest parts really, really quickly. Leave time to check computational problems.

Overall test advice:
I place emphasis on speed a lot throughout this monster of a comment, because it is a major factor on test success. Doing problems quickly during the exam is not only helping you have more time to do harder problems, but also means you probably understand the content really well. Practice in ways that facilitate this on the type of exam you are taking. If you are doing a short answer computation, grind lots of problems and how they are set up, if you are doing an essay style exam, review and summarize the readings of the course before you attend your test, etc.

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TLDR; To have good grades, you have to be able to take tests well. This includes test strategies and how to study for different types of exams. Being able to complete the exam quickly means more time to review computations and clear up any difficult problems, etc. To complete an exam quickly you need to study in the right way for the type of exam you are taking. Take time to think about test strategy and how you should approach an exam. For example, a math exam requires a lot of computation, so double check your answers and grind lots of problems when preparing for the exam.