In response to @opher, I find about half my teachers DO test right out of the book (sometimes) but the information is often so obscure and hard to locate, or it's a generalization of several pages. If you hadn't read it and studied before to at least know where the information is, your going to have no chance to finish the exam by the end of the time allotted. You can't really read an entire chapter during the test to get one answer.
Other teachers will give you an open book test so you feel confident you don't have to study, but then very little of the test is based on the text. It's more on things like slide shows, lectures, or in-class discussions.
Other teachers are actually nice (I've had a new) and will give you an easy exam where multiple choice is basically line for line out of the book.

Best thing to do would likely be to ask for a review from the teacher if you have time - ask in as much detail as you can, like which chapters are more heavily weighted, which theories are used most frequently, etc. Some teachers when questioned will give you almost the exact layout and questions of the test. They will also sometimes divulge their testing style - like our teachers will tell us that the first section is general ideas out of the book, then theories based on scenarios, then obscure facts that were only discussed, for example. It should be easy to get at least a testing outline.

Then, write a study sheet. Take a page (or a few pages) and summarize each chapter. Highlight or circle off important sections so you can find them quickly. Include general ideas, important facts, or anything obscure you might like on the test. Every little thing you might need, should be listed. My favorite way is to separate ideas or sections with different colors of pen - do one section in red, the next in blue, etc. This will help you to quickly differentiate when a new idea starts. Highlight the main idea to help you find things quickly. Often writing the study sheet is enough studying on its own (for me, anyways), and in the case of a lot of obscure facts, you can locate them quickly and easily, and find exactly what you want. If you haven't included something, you can usually figure it out just by the content in the section it should have fit. For a Half Semester test, I could fit all of my notes on one side of a regular sided blank piece of paper, and I usually don't need to read it again. That's based on 7 weeks of class, 4 hours a week. That takes me about 6 hours to write out based on slide shows, reading homework, and discussion notes. Do that in one big chunk and your good to go. If you do it a few days ahead of time it might be a good idea to make photocopies (in case you lose it) and leave the copies anywhere you can pick them up just for a second to read (in your bag for the bus, in your locker, at work, in your bathroom, beside your bed). Skim over it daily, but don't try to force yourself to remember anything unless you know it will be important, but in that case, you just need to know where it is on your study sheet - like a formula for example. Don't read it the morning of the test, and don't stay up late unless you are really really scared (like you won't sleep anyways). Remember to bring one to the test.

I find that even when I feel lost in the course, a study sheet allows me to learn everything quickly and thoroughly, because I've written it. Might not work for you, it's just what works for me. Other people need to associate with pictures or sounds or pure repetition to study effectively and you likely know you own best method.

Something else I've never tried (but I've heard and imagine it's effective) is to record yourself speaking. Talk about the notes on a tape or recording, talk about any theories you have, talk about anything you want to remember - just list out facts if you have to. Play it back CONSTANTLY. I know when I get a new CD I put it on quietly when I go to bed and within a day I usually know all of the lyrics or pick them up extremely quickly. It's like subliminal learning, and there is a lot of controversy over it's effectiveness, but if you have the time it might be worth it. Then you can just put it on an MP3 player and listen to it on the way to class and work. Play it at home while your doing chores or watching TV, and put it on repeat while your in bed. Again, I've never tried it myself and I don't believe there is proof of it's effectiveness, but it may work for you, especially if you have lots of time to prepare for it.

I remember my first semester java exam, where I knew there were lots of coding and syntax questions, was 1/2 page of main theories - encapsulation, polymorphism, etc, and 1/2 was things like very basic for loops, if statements. etc. It was a breeze.

Long story short - studying for an open book test shouldn't be much different than studying for a normal exam, as they're often designed so that you will fail if you rely on only the book. Study as normal.

Good luck with your test - the sooner you start the review, the better, but a study sheet always works for me!
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3rd year programming student

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