In many countries, including the United States, England, Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan, individuals must pass some form of examination for entry into or completion of a teacher education program (Wang, Coleman, Coley, & Phelps, 2003). These exams are meant to act as gatekeeping mechanisms for teacher quality. In the majority of the countries…

In this article, the author describes his project to take every standardized exam English majors students take. During the summer and fall semesters of 2012, the author signed up for and took the GRE General Test, the Praxis Content Area Exam (English Language, Literature, and Composition: Content Knowledge), the Senior Major Field Tests in…

For most students, test taking is a challenge. For students who are deaf or hard of hearing, classroom quizzes, tests, and exams are even more challenging. Standardized tests--The SAT, ACT, state proficiency tests, No Child Left Behind annual tests, and psychoeducational evaluations--present additional challenges for students who are deaf or hard…

Although research has extensively documented sources for differential item functioning and stereotype threat--especially among women and black college students--little is known about group differences in test-taking strategies among black adolescent students. In this article, Arbuthnot presents findings from two studies that seek to explore how…

The recent decision by the Department of Education and Science in the Republic of Ireland to introduce the mandatory testing of children in Irish primary schools provides the broad context for this paper. This decision has particular implications for schools designated as disadvantaged. The main focus of this study is on identifying the strategies…

For the most part, standardized tests are verbal and presuppose that the test takers know the language, culture, and values of the test makers, who usually represent white, middle class language and values. The communication problems that minority groups face when taking standardized tests include phonological biases (especially when the tests are…

Different viewpoints regarding educational testing are described. While some people advocate continuing reliance upon standardized tests, others favor the discontinuation of such achievement and intelligence tests. The author recommends a moderate view somewhere between these two extremes. Problems associated with standardized testing in the…

Achievement gaps in standardized tests consist of the differences between test scores of students of color and those of white students and between scores of poor children and those of their wealthier peers. Maylone determines student testing behaviors, herein referred to as TestThink, which reflect differences in students' abilities to behave in…

The writer looks at the often contradictory ways in which tests are seen and used. We are told by its defenders that the SAT is a superb measure of academic promise, but its detractors insist that it is next to useless in helping colleges and universities select their entering class. Test-driven accountability systems have been criticized as…

This paper examines some of the implications of present testing programs for minority groups. The effects on prospective teachers and the institutions that prepare them are discussed. The role of the testing movement in molding the curriculum that is taught in colleges of education is described with particular consideration of state-mandated…

Equal educational opportunity is the springboard for equal opportunity and is the hope of blacks, other minorities, and whites for fair participation in the economic marketplace. Standardized tests frequently contain a cultural bias that mitigates against black students, thus presenting a barrier to higher education. In many places, competency…

This conference, whose theme was "The Testing Issue," addressed problems encountered with standardized testing in Alabama's historically black colleges and universities, and predominantly black high schools. It focused on immediate intervention strategies designed to provide access to high school diplomas, college, graduate and professional…

Several program transcripts on educational testing from the National Public Radio series, Options in Education, are included in this pamphlet. In "The I.Q. Controversy," Ned Block discusses culturally biased standardized tests. Dr. Harold Hodgkinson, former Director of the National Institute of Education, and Noel Epstein, Education Editor of the…

The role of standardized tests in American education is being challenged as many feel that they are unfair and actually reinforce and legitimize existing inequalities. The Educational Testing Service, the SAT, meritocracy, test coaching, and economic bias are discussed. (MLW)

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…