One good way to learn is make cards with Spanish on one side and English on the other. That way you can practice the your knowledge in both directions. As you become sure you know a word and its forms, you can put that card aside an concentrate on those that remain. Absolutely do not wait until a major test to try to learn 200 vocabulary words. You'll regret it.
Verbs cause the most grief in learning Spanish grammar, primarily because of all the forms.
Unlike English, Spanish verb forms change depending on who is doing something and when. As with vocabulary, repetition is critical, but with grammar, writing is also important. For one thing, tests are written, so if you have experience writing grammatical Spanish, you will have a better chance of writing correct test answers. Write down all irregulary verb forms. Do your workbook exercises and, if you feel you need more, write out the exercises in the textbook.