There is widespread belief that test-taking ability is an influential component of academic success distinct from domain knowledge and comprehension. Most of today's college students took many more tests over the course of their primary and secondary education than students of previous generations, and also participated in regular training to…

Pluralistic ignorance occurs when individuals misperceive a group norm and attempt to match the perceived--rather than actual--norm. Little is currently known about its role in the undergraduate classroom. The present research examined the pluralistic ignorance of studying behavior and its relationship with examination performance across four…

To assess the effect of a 4-question reflective learning technique on quiz performance, students engaged in an interactive activity, responded to 4 questions to encourage analyzing (i.e., what was learned), reflecting (i.e., why it is important), relating (i.e., how the material related to their personal lives), and generating (i.e., what…

Reports on an evaluation of answer changing on multiple choice tests. States that any change a student is inclined to make, no matter how low the confidence, was found to lead to a significant gain. Concludes that students who change answers are likely to benefit despite the widely held belief that "first impressions are best." (GEA)

To obtain information on the efficacy of college essay tests a study was undertaken to determine strategies used by students in answering essay tests. Expressing a similar opinion to the teacher's is the most common strategy. This finding casts doubt on the assumption that essay tests provide opportunity for students to exercise creativity and…

An evaluation of a test-retest policy, which was designed to give students a second chance at each exam in introductory psychology courses, showed that it reduced the test anxiety of approximately 80 percent of the students. Students' scores also improved on retests. (RM)

I tested whether students' scores on the semester's first exam would change their reported use of textbook pedagogical aids during the course of the semester. I assessed 240 introductory psychology undergraduates early and late in the semester. The reported use of aids did not positively relate to student performance on any exams and showed only…

If students can see a clear reason for comprehensive examinations and have a model to follow in preparation, they will learn more and their test anxiety will be reduced. A history of doctoral examinations is presented, and how students might be helped to prepare for them is discussed. (RM)

Investigates the circumstances under which answer changing is beneficial or detrimental to test performance. Analyzes the success of answer changing in relation to the reasons offered for changing. Concludes that students who reported guessing as their reason for changing answers were not nearly as likely to benefit from changing as were students…

This study tests the hypothesis that student attributions of the causes of success on their examinations (ability, extra help, and extra effort) depends upon the test type (objective, problems, or essay). Findings supported the hypothesis. (AM)

Grade A undergraduate psychology students used different test-taking strategies on a multiple-choice exam than did C or F students. In general, the strategies of the best students were characterized by a more thorough consideration of the alternative answers for each question. (RM)

Presents the results of a study, using a test-taking strategies questionnaire, that investigated the reasons why students in introductory psychology write on a 50-item multiple choice test. Reports that there are seven reasons students used for why they wrote on the examination. (CMK)

Evaluates the practice of providing feedback to students in a college psychology course. Findings indicated that reviewing test items improves subsequent scores on identical items, but not when the items appear in a rewritten format. (Author/DB)

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)