Laments the widespread cheating among public school students and their lack of imagination in cheating methods, and then recounts the story of two ingenious master cheaters (fraternity brothers) at the University of North Carolina. (NKA)

Presents a four-task typology (concept, relation, process, argumentation) of essay examination prompts, based on study of 284 prompts used in 15 academic departments at Western Illinois University, and shows how it can be used to help foreign students sharpen their English-language essay examination-taking skills. (CB)

Discusses current research and personal experience in designing courses in English for academic purposes that help develop generalizable, transferable skills. Helpful research includes: (1) looking at needs and learning as a continuous process; (2) qualitative rather than quantitative studies; and (3) expert-novice juxtaposition. (Author/LMO)

A review of 33 research studies which examined issues surrounding answer-changing behavior on objective tests indicated that (1) the majority of answer changes are from incorrect to correct, (2) most students who change their answers improve their test scores, and (3) most test-takers change answers. Future research needs are discussed. (RM)

Results of multiple-choice tests in educational psychology were examined to discover the effects on students' scores of changing their original answer choices after reconsideration. Eighty-six percent of the students changed one or more answers, and six out of seven students who made changes improved their scores by doing so. (Author/CTM)

A university chemistry comprehensive final examination was analyzed to determine the extent to which it reflected the subject matter of the corresponding degree program. Although the various courses seemed adequately represented, the sampling of topics within a course tended to be low. The appropriateness of this form of assessment is discussed.…

Results of a study involving pathology students suggest that there is significant cluing in multiple-true-false test questions that use secondary responses to represent combinations of the primary response (e.g., "Mark B if only 1 and 3 are correct"). Thus test scores are artificially inflated and test reliability is lowered. (JMD)

Lesson study helps teachers use collaborative peer insight and feedback about student responses to instruction to develop high quality lessons. Combining lesson study with collaborative action research, Ohio middle school teachers developed exemplar lessons in the four-column writing method and found that the method significantly improved…

This study examined multiple choice testing for formative and summative evaluation among sixth-grade inner-city students (N=568) who were assessed simultaneously, with forced choice and information based (confidence weighted) test scoring formats. Results are discussed, with emphasis on implications for teacher evaluation of low-achieving…

A turnaround school in Mission, Texas proves poverty and underachievement are not synonymous. The 1998 passing rate on state assessments was 90.7 percent, compared to 41.2 percent in 1993. Factors include committed faculty, a strong principal, extended reading practice and instructional time, incentives and recognition, and pre-assessment…

Teaching to the test has significant undesirable effects. This practice skews scores and invalidates the test, promotes convergent thinking, promotes learning that may be obsolete, excludes the arts and extracurricular activities, promotes didactic instruction over discovery learning, involves only short-term memory, and excludes higher-order…

Presents strategies to help elementary students be more confident and prepared and score higher on standardized tests. The strategies involve briefly reviewing sample tests to familiarize students with common test formats, then focusing on strategies built into their reading, writing, math, science, and social studies plans. (SM)

Accountability and assessment have become grossly confused in today's educational climate. Although restructuring assessment is essential, the education community must communicate what tests measure, explain the different types of assessments utilized, and distinguish among several scoring techniques. Students should be taught effective…

Psychological assessment traditionally entails assessment processes and measures to address questions about children. In school settings, these questions usually center on why children experience difficulty learning, engage in inappropriate classroom deportment, and fail to develop adaptive peer relationships. The mini-series in this issue…

The authors explored test-preparation and test-taking strategies that high school students used in algebra tests. From a pool of high school students (N = 156), 61 students participated in interviews, and of those interviewed, 26 represented those who were high achieving as well as highly interested in mathematics (n = 15) vs. those who were low…