A cooperative effort was made by the faculty of South Carolina State College to strengthen student skills perceived as critical to successful performance on standardized tests required for admission to teacher preparation programs and teaching certification. The areas of language skills, reading comprehension, critical thought, and test-taking…

As part of a research program to identify training methods which optimize skill acquisition and retention, three studies were conducted to assess the effects of type of training, amount of practice, and guided discussion in cognitive learning strategies training programs. Undergraduate students enrolled in educational psychology courses were…

Corrected-for-guessing scores on multiple-choice tests depend upon the ability and willingness of examinees to guess when they have some basis for answering, and to avoid guessing when they have no basis. The present study determined the extent to which college students were able and willing to comply with formula-scoring directions. (Author/CTM)

This experimental study was conducted to: (1) provide further information on the susceptibility to special preparation of three Graduate Record Examination analytical item types; (2) determine the efficacy of self-study test familiarization materials for these types; and (3) ascertain the effects of several different components of special…

Studies of the predictive validity of the Dental Admission Test have been reported, but none suggest how an admissions committee should assess the scores of applicants who take the test twice. Improvement on the test scores might compromise their utility for purposes of student selection. (Author/MLW)

Chicano college students who participated in a study skills program based on self-monitoring and self-reinforcement, supplemented with instruction and reinforcement from the program director, reported that time spent studying and performance on tests improved as a function of training and that the improvement was maintained. (CM)

A discussion of strategies for helping the growing number of students with learning disabilities succeed in college work looks at classroom and organizational techniques the teacher can use, the value of notetaking and test-taking skills, and the advantages of coordination between faculty and related school services. (MSE)

When multiple-choice answer sheets are printed in the latent-image format, students may be required to select alternatives until they identify the correct one. This provides immediate feedback and permits use of more complicated test formats, but it also introduces novel ways to cheat and may engender substantial anxiety in test-takers unless…

Results of a British program of eight learning strategy workshops for university freshmen are discussed. The workshops focused on essay writing and test-taking skills. Regular attendees had significantly more sophisticated conceptions of learning than irregular attendees and had higher essay and examination scores. However, differences in overall…

Among 148 college students taking a self-adapted computerized test of basic algebra skills, higher self-confidence and lower test anxiety were related to choosing more difficult first items but were not related to later choices. Overall, examinees chose items of moderate difficulty relative to their ability level. (SV)

This author proposes supplemental instruction as a valid practice in any course, for any students, because each course has its idiosyncracies that are best addressed by the instructor. Particular skills to focus supplemental instruction sessions on include text-reading, note-taking, studying, and examination-taking skills. (Author/MLW)

Examines the strategies used in answering a computerized multiple-choice test where all questions on a semantic topic were grouped together or randomly distributed. Findings indicate that students grouped by performance on the test used different strategies in completing the test due to distinct cognitive processes between the groups. (AEF)

Examines determinates of student academic success in a Swedish university using estimates of a proportional-odds model. Finds that students studying previously given examinations, engaging in physical activity up to 6 hours per week, and taking courses in natural and technical sciences in high school play an important role in determining academic…

Integrating up-to-date composition theory with pedagogical research in critical thinking and inquiry, this book presents a flexible organizational structure to accommodate a range of freshman composition course designs and to engage students intellectually in problem-centered writing activities to prepare them for academic tasks across the…

A study was conducted to determine whether cooperative testing would result in better performance and less anxiety than individual testing. Two sections of a developmental psychology class used cooperative testing, and a third section used traditional testing methods. Four multiple choice tests containing 50 items were administered to each group,…