Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is an important target of science teacher knowledge assessment. Most studies that have assessed the PCK across a large sample of science teachers used a text-based approach to elicit and assess the more declarative and static form of teachers' PCK. Recently, small-scale qualitative studies have adopted a novel…

A decision of whether to move from paper-and-pencil to computer-based tests is based largely on a careful weighing of the potential benefits of a change against its costs, disadvantages, and challenges. This paper briefly discusses the trade-offs involved in making such a transition, and then focuses on a relatively unexplored benefit of…

Use of high-stakes exams in a course has been associated with gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequities. We investigated whether offering students the opportunity to retake an exam makes high-stakes exams more equitable. Following the control value theory of achievement emotions, we hypothesized that exam retakes would increase students'…

Relieving test anxiety actions range from relaxation exercises to prescription medication. Humor can be a simple method of test anxiety relief. The current study was used to determine if humor, in the form of a cartoon, placed on the splash page of an online exam improved the test scores of students who have high test anxiety. In the current…

Students exhibit a variety of test-related behaviors before and during the American College Testing (ACT®) test. Previous ACT research has identified associations between test-related behavior and ACT test performance. For example, test preparation has been shown to be associated with modest ACT Composite score gains on the second ACT testing…

Considerable evidence indicates that self-efficacy, task value, anxiety, and the use of language learning strategies are related. However, there is currently an insufficient understanding about their relations in high-stakes testing contexts. The author aimed to investigate how well social factors, test value, anxiety, test performance, and…

This study assessed the test-taking skills of 776 high school students, 35 of whom were diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD). Students completed a computerized battery of timed reading tests as well as scales that assess test anxiety and test-taking perceptions. Students with LD obtained lower scores than the nondisabled group on all of the…

This research investigated the relationships among test performance, anxiety, and the quality of interaction during collaborative testing of college students. It also explored which students are most likely to benefit from collaborative testing. It was randomly determined whether a student would take each of six examinations alone or with a…

In 2001, the No Child Left Behind legislature was introduced, along with the era of the highly qualified teacher. A highly qualified teacher meant that teachers not only had to graduate from an accredited teacher preparation program but also had to pass Praxis I and II tests. However, Praxis I became a test of elimination because teachers no…

This study sought to explore the perspectives of learners involved in the IELTS Academic Writing Module courses. In particular, the study explored learner perspectives of motivation, test-taking anxiety, test-taking strategies, and the expectations students bring to their courses. This study adopted a mixed methodology and collected data through…

Test anxiety is one of the most debilitating and disruptive factors associated with underachievement and failure in schools (Birenbaum, Menucha, Nasser, & Fadia, 1994; Tobias, 1985). Researchers have suggested that interventions that combine multiple test-anxiety reduction techniques are most effective at reducing test anxiety levels (Ergene,…

Test-taking strategies are important cognitive skills that strongly affect students' performance in tests. Using appropriate test-taking strategies improves students' achievement and grades, improves students' attitudes toward tests and reduces test anxiety. This results in improving test accuracy and validity. This study aimed at developing a…

American schools face pressure to increase their students' test scores. Research reports have shown American students to be particularly stressed over test taking partially because of other outside interests in their lives that also take up time. This paper offers tips to help students relieve stress arising from the testing situation. Students…

To reduce test anxiety, students should know that apparently no correlation exists between student rankings on examinations and the order in which students completed those examinations. Although the first paper completed usually ranks higher than the last, it is not necessarily the best paper, nor is the last the worst. (SB)

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)