Presents a compilation of strategies, exercises, and ideas that have been most helpful with students receiving private tutoring on the verbal portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). (RS)

Examines students' ability to judge comprehension of text material (before actually taking a test) as well as ability to judge comprehension performance on text material (after taking a test). Finds that although students' self-assessment ability was not related to their actual calibration skills, self-image presentation was related to students'…

What whole language is and is not, what whole language instruction is and is not, and whether "subskills" can be integrated into a whole language approach are topics worthy of consideration. Whole language is natural language within a given context and in relation to a given situation. Isolated bits of language used for exercise rather…

Examines the accuracy of students' perceptions of whether enough has been learned from a text to pass a test in the experiments. Reveals consistent, although nonsignificant, increases in accuracy of perceived readiness for examination performance (PREP) from before reading to after reading. Indicates that only the before-reading to after-testing…

Provides a brief review of test-wiseness research and discusses a model of direct instruction as an alternative to reading comprehension test-wiseness instruction. (FL)

This book presents a vocabulary development program that is designed for use in individualized programs as well as in more traditional, full-class settings. It is part of a series of seven books, corresponding to grades 6-12, which are carefully organized to ensure the comprehension and retention of valuable core words. The book consists of 16…

At intervals during the reading of an article, college students were asked to stop and state how they were preparing to answer an unspecified question about the article. Those students who had attempted to discern the question had significantly superior performance to those who had not devised such a strategy. (JN)

The 12 activity-oriented units described in this study skills guide for students in the eighth, ninth, and tenth grades are designed to assist in the development of necessary study skills at most levels of competence and to reinforce already existing skills. The units in the guide also attempt to incorporate as much student activity as possible,…

This study considers whether or not the various sentence structures in standardized reading tests cohere to facilitate the extraction of information. In the context of the theoretical framework of the study, a schema theory of reading, a diffuse discourse structure may legitimately activate more than one way of conceptualizing an answer to a test…

Successful instructional strategies for enhancing the reading comprehension and comprehension test performance of learning disabled students are described. Students are taught to self-monitor their comprehension of expository materials and stories through recognition and analysis of recurrent elements and problem passages, content summarization,…

Describes a study of the effects of direct exposure to the reading selection topics of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test reading comprehension subtest on students' posttest scores. Finds that instruction in reading strategies helps student performance, but that background information on test topics did not affect scores. (AYC)

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…

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

A qualitative study investigated the test-taking behaviors, knowledge, and perceptions of 20 urban, adult basic education students reading at third to fifth grade equivalency levels. The entire reading comprehension subtest of the Test of Adult Basic Education, levels E and M, was administered under standardized conditions. A combination of…

To determine how much prior knowledge affects students' performance on a reading comprehension test, a study was undertaken to examine the prior knowledge factor in a reading competency test developed for college freshmen in New Jersey. The passages used in this test are based on common, everyday topics. Subjects were students in two sections of a…