Learning disabled and behaviorally disordered third and fourth grade students were taught test taking skills such as attending to appropriate stimuli, marking answers carefully, using time well, and avoiding errors. These students scored significantly higher than their untrained peers on the Word Study Skills subtest of the Stanford Achievement…

High school students trained in test-taking skills performed markedly higher on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test than did controls. On two subtests, vocabulary and comprehension, controls scored significantly lower than the experimental group. A relationship was noted between parental help with test-taking preparation and level of test performance.…

A statistical comparison of scores on the previous and redesigned Medical College Admission Tests showed that neither was a powerful predictor of scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners Part III examination, a measure of clinical competence at the first-year resident level. Other subtest results were also found. (MSE)

Suggests that when middle school teachers put greater emphasis on study skills, their students profit from greater confidence and understanding. (AEA)

The effects of violating four item construction principles were examined to assess the validity of the principles and the importance of students' test wiseness. While flawed items were significantly less difficult than sound items, differences in item discrimination, test reliability, and concurrent validity were not observed. (Author/BW)

A comparison of three treatments (training students to take tests, training teachers to administer tests, and reinforcing reading test score improvement) showed that group achievement scores more accurately indicate what students know if motivated to do their best in tests and take tests from teachers trained to administer standardized tests.…

Ninety-four college males completed a management trainees' selection test that had been developed by criterion-keying. They were instructed once to answer honestly, and once to answer as a highly motivated job applicant would. "Faking" instructions resulted in significantly higher scores. (Author/GDC)

Higher mean IQ scores were obtained on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) compared to the revised version (WISC-R). The WISC-R had a facilitative effect on the WISC that did not appear when the WISC was administered first. Differences in instructions may have enhanced the practice effect. (Author/JAC)

A mathematics achievement test with instructions to avoid guessing wildly was given to 168 elementary school pupils who were later asked to complete all the questions using a differently colored pencil. Results showed examinees, particularly the more able students, tend to omit too many items. (CTM)

A teacher explains two techniques he has used in high school English classes to increase students' confidence in their own abilities, by helping them to rely less on guessing when it comes to spelling and test-taking and more on realistic assessments of their own performance. (SJL)

The relationship among test anxiety, study skills, and academic performance was studied. It was found that, in addition to academic aptitude, a measure of effective test-taking skills and a measure of test anxiety contributed significantly to prediction of grade point average. (Author)

This article discusses the four elements to learning successful test taking: time strategies, error avoidance strategies, guessing strategies, and deductive reasoning strategies. Test tricks and gimmicks are described and a list of Web sites is provided that includes resources for identifying learning strategies and for accessing study guides. (CR)

Surveyed, interviewed, and observed fourth grade New Jersey math and science teachers regarding test preparation activities. Test preparation consisted of a mix of more and less intellectually challenging activities. There was more direct instruction in lower socioeconomic districts, but not less inquiry-oriented instruction. Principal support had…

Provides strategies designed to help both mainstream and underrepresented students meet the rhetorical demands of placement exams and gain control in these situations. Describes the University of California Santa Barbara's Preparatory Program which serves a large, culturally diverse student population, acknowledges the variables embedded in the…

A series of study guides, which were developed to assist students in improving study and library skills, is reproduced for teachers' use. The guides cover test-taking skills; writing business letters; selecting a writing topic; plagiarism; developing search strategies; documentation; and locating dictionaries, periodical articles, books,…