By viewing standardized reading tests as a unique genre that could be taught, the author designed a two-week genre study for her reading workshop. The article describes how she planned, taught, and reflected on the unit. This genre study resolved some of the dilemmas she faced around preparing students for mandated testing. (Contains 1 table and 2…

Suggests techniques for teaching students to comprehend test questions in a manner that requires them to think about both what is in the question and what could be in the passage. (HOD)

Standardized reading tests are likely to provide an inaccurate assessment of reading comprehension for deaf students due to the lack of test coaching and test taking skills; item irrelevancy; and the difficulty of test directions. Testing alternatives include parent and teacher observation of students and qualitative evaluations of reading skills…

Discusses test-taking skills and their application to tests of reading achievement. Presents a rationale for teaching these skills, lists a comprehensive set of skills relevant to standardized reading tests, and offers suggestions for teaching the skills and helping children use them. (FL)

Investigated the effects of instruction in test-taking techniques upon the standardized reading test scores of second-grade Black students. The experimental group performed significantly higher than the control group when administered the Stanford Achievement Test. Counselors should help students increase their test wiseness. (Author/JAC)

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…

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…

Indicates that certain items in reading comprehension tests are not measuring for hearing impaired students the particular reading skill they are intended to measure. Argues for a word/idea association strategy as the explanation for this and briefly discusses its relevance for testing and educating the hearing impaired. (FL)

A simple curriculum is provided that is designed to allow any school to prepare its students for the Enhanced American College Testing Program Tests (Enhanced ACT). Components of this manual include: (1) introduce the test structure; (2) give the strategy lectures; (3) provide as much structured practice as possible; (4) administer a mock test…

This paper reports an investigation of inferencing in Form Five of the Reading Comprehension component of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The first step in the investigation consisted of an analysis of the language of the test to determine how the inferencing strategies employed might serve to mask answers. This preliminary analysis suggested that…

A study involving all students taking the California Achievement Test (CAT) in the Cleveland City School District (Ohio) during the fall of 1989 was conducted to assess the effects of the use of parallel test forms. Each spring, all students in grades 4, 6, and 8 are selected to take the appropriate level of the CAT reading test, Form E. As a…

Two hypotheses were tested in this study: that second grade students who receive instruction and practice in nonsubstantive test taking techniques will achieve higher standardized reading test scores than second grade students who do not receive this instruction and practice both immediately following treatment and four months after treatment. The…

This bibliography includes most publications on the theory and practice of foreign language testing which have appeared since 1950. It does not include those referring to testing in the mother tongue. Parts 1 and 2 include other bibliographies on testing and a short selection of published tests which embody recent techniques. Part 3--the main…

The purpose of this report is to: (1) summarize the attempts that have been made to define and investigate test wiseness, particularly those efforts made at teaching test wiseness; (2) identify gaps and deficiencies in the existing body of research; (3) make recommendations as to the direction that future research in this area should take; and (4)…