Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

Specific and detailed instructions to implement an environmental engineering approach to the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test for Psychology are outlined. Focus is on helping students prepare for this test. Some universities use the GRE as a measure of achievement and aptitude and as a criterion test. In truth, such a test does not…

Data collected by the Federal Trade Commission from the Educational Testing Service (1975 to 1977) and two commercial coaching schools in the New York metropolitan area are used in an observational study to test the hypothesis that commercial coaching can improve performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. (Author/PN)

This research examines the effect of increased testing time by comparing the four performance indices of randomly equivalent examinee subpopulations on sections of similar content and difficulty administered at different times on three SAT administrations. A variety of analyses were used in this study and found no evidence that the current SAT…

The majority of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students are not attaining the ACT scores they are aiming for, which they need to qualify for scholarships and college acceptance. This report looks at the reasons behind students' low performance and what matters for doing well on this test. CPS students are highly motivated to do well on the ACT, and…

This 145-item bibliography of examination study guides is a major revision of an earlier edition published in 1989. There are 45 new entries and 23 deletions of older books. This bibliography is intended for undergraduate students preparing for examinations required for admission to graduate or professional schools and for college graduates…

Teacher education candidates who had failed admission tests were coached in test taking and taught relaxation techniques. Three passed a retake immediately and three others within 3 months. Strategies such as affirmations, appeals to different learning modalities, positive anchors, and mental dress rehearsals can help students deal with test…

To ascertain how the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) would be affected if candidates had access to some of the items before administration of a test containing those items, a number of specially constructed TOEFL forms were made available to 945 foreign students in intensive English language programs. The students were later…

As testing has taken on a more significant role in the college admission process and, more recently, in K-12 education through the increasing popularity of high-stakes testing, so have the urgency of questions surrounding test preparation initiatives, through both private and educational ventures and school-sponsored preparation programs. This…

Administrators should offer preparatory courses for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Program (ACT) because most students are not well prepared to take college entrance exams. Principals can improve a high school's test-prep program by ensuring teachers' familiarity with the tests and choosing a test…

Three students' concerns about testing range from the conditions under which tests are taken to what tests actually measure, to the personal sacrifices high school students must make to take nationally administered examinations. (Author/CM)

Students who are prepared for tests (possessing content knowledge, test-taking strategies, and effective study plans) perform better in test situations than unprepared or unskilled students. This article presents strategies teachers can use to help students develop test-taking skills and discusses differences between the Scholastic Aptitude Test…

Interest in the effectiveness of test coaching has prompted many studies, almost all of which have been directed toward coaching's effect on results of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The focus of this research was to investigate whether preparation for the American College Test (ACT) provided by professional coaches would raise the scores…

The purpose of this study was to obtain information on both the number of individuals who retest and their patterns of score gain (or decrement) by sex and ability. Individuals who retested only once were found to gain about 26-27 points on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal test and about 23 points on the GRE quantitative test. This…

The guide was developed by the Health Careers Opportunity Program, the principal Federal program focused on increasing the numbers of disadvantaged individuals who train for and enter the health professions. The guide is intended to help institutional grantees working with such students in the areas of: (1) diagnostic testing in cognitive and…