Four decades of research have shown that students' low test-taking effort is a serious threat to the validity of score-based inferences from low-stakes, group-based educational assessments. This meta-analysis sought to identify effective interventions for improving students' test-taking effort in such contexts. Included studies: (1) used a…

Building on the rich tradition of 'teacher as researcher' in mathematics education, I describe a study undertaken whilst working as a mathematics specialist in an Australian primary school. The focus of the study was on examining whether explicitly teaching students test-taking strategies ('test-wiseness') improved their performance on a…

This study examined the effects of being taught the Mayfield's Four Questions multiple-choice test-taking strategy on the perceived self-efficacy and multiple-choice test scores of nursing students in a two-year associate degree program. Experimental and control groups were chosen by stratified random sampling. Subjects completed the 10-statement…

Although much is known about how students perform on standardized tests, little research exists concerning how students think and process while taking such tests. This mixed methods action research study was designed to investigate if a constructivist approach to test preparation could yield improved results for 37 English language arts freshmen…

In recent years, there has been heightened awareness of the importance of early childhood education and high school as intervention points in the educational lives of America's children. Less attention has been paid to the importance of the upper elementary grades and middle school and the role they must play in the preparation of students for…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teaching eight secondary students with disabilities, including seven with learning disabilities, a strategy for answering a variety of inferential questions. A multiple-baseline across-subjects design was employed. Outcome measures included scores on researcher-devised comprehension…

The impact of providing assistance to develop test-taking skills of 19 minority medical students was studied. The intervention program consisted of 15 hours of test-taking instruction and participation in learning teams that used practice tests to reinforce test-taking skills. For two sets of second-year minority students, intervention was…

Test-taking intervention procedures were implemented for minority premedical students. The intent of the intervention was to modify expected performances on the science subtest of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The group used to determine the effectiveness of the test intervention procedures consisted of 11 students who had previously…

Effects of test-taking instruction for University of North Carolina medical students who failed end-of-year examinations were studied. The exam is compensatory and includes a number of subtests, including National Board (NB) Part I standardized subtests in pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Students who had to repeat NB Part I subtests were…

This final report describes the activities, results, and conclusions of a 3-year project whose major purpose was to improve test-taking skills of learning-disabled and behaviorally disordered students, with respect to standardized achievement tests. The project concluded that: learning-disabled and behaviorally disordered students exhibit deficits…

The study examined associated treatment effects on State Board Examination (SBE) scores of two predominantly black nursing classes who had been exposed to different intervention methods: (1) the teaching of effective test-taking skills, and (2) a combination of that instruction with learning team methods. The SBE performance of the two groups who…

A survey was completed by 30 administrators in Northwest Ohio who were in charge of the administration and remediation for the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Tests for their respective schools. On a scale of 0 to 5 (0 signifying not at all and 5 signifying great extent), the respondents were asked to rate 20 different intervention and remediation…