This study investigated the effect of a linguistically based coaching program (with special attention given to the syntactic and semantic requirements of standardized language arts achievement tests) on the performance of selected black high school students on objective tests. The five subjects, one male and four female, were high school juniors…

The realities of inappropriate and sometimes unethical testing practices must be confronted to make sure that current assessments are as reliable and effective as possible. While this paper does not attempt to provide practical guidelines for ethical and appropriate testing, it does draw a picture of appropriate and ethical testing practices. All…

Reviews research on the effectiveness of teaching test-wiseness. Finds that minority group members, members of culturally different groups, special education students, and students at every educational level benefit from instruction in test-taking strategies. (RS)

A seminar was offered to improve the understanding of tests as they are used in academic and employment decisions, and to assist participants in improving their scores on standardized tests through increased understanding of test-taking strategies. The long- and short-range implications of training students in the techniques of test-taking are…

This project examined the hypothesis that different background experiences associated with cultural grouping may lead to differences in test-taking strategies which result in score differences extraneous to the abilities the test is intended to measure. Its purposes were to confirm (or disconfirm) the cultural differences hypothesis and to provide…

Highlights biases, that is, learning styles and test bias, involved in testing low income Blacks with norm-referenced achievement tests. Offers suggestions to assist counselors in improving their students' test performance. (Author)

This book discusses tricks for answering questions on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The tricks are based on an analysis of 12 editions of the LSAT which have been made public pursuant to New York's Truth in Testing Law. Sample LSAT questions published by the Law School Admission Council are referenced to exemplify the tricks' applications…

This book discusses tricks for answering questions on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The tricks are based on an analysis of 20 editions of the GMAT which have been made public pursuant to New York's Truth in Testing Law. Sample GMAT questions published by the Graduate Management Admission Council are referenced to exemplify the…

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…

Systematic but unanticipated differences in patterns of responses to a test between two or more groups is generally taken as evidence of test bias. This study assessed whether a carefully-targeted instructional sequence could influence the effects of bias. A reading comprehension test with items previously identified as biased for certain groups…

This paper examines the controversies surrounding the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and its use in college admissions policies. An early section reviews the history and development of the test. Next the essay reviews a series of challenges to the SAT: many argue that the structure of the examination is biased against women and minorities. Others…

This book contains 10 papers on solutions and barriers to improving the access of Hispanic American students to higher education. Following an introductory essay on: "Advances in Assessment and the Potential for Increasing the Number of Hispanics in Higher Education" (G. D. Keller), the papers are organized into four parts. Papers in…

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…