The hypothesis of acting White has been heatedly debated and influential over the last 20 years or so in explaining the Black-White test score gap. Recently, economists have joined the debate and started providing new theoretical and empirical analyses of the phenomenon. This paper critically reviews the arguments that have been advanced to…

Purpose: In common with most standardized admissions tests, the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores disproportionately screen out applicants from disadvantaged and underrepresented minority groups, relative to their demographic importance. The impact of programs to prepare students for the MCAT has not been adequately addressed. The…

Discusses why and how to improve the performance of minority college students on standardized tests. Emphasizes the importance of providing instruction in effective test taking and reinforcing acquired skills on practice tests. (KH)

Teaching students test wiseness can have a number of positive results, including improving the validity of the tests themselves and improving the scores of minority students on tests. (AEA)

This study investigated test-wiseness in a sample of urban high school seniors. Fifty-four academically talented black and minority students were matched on reading comprehension scores from the California Achievement Tests and were assigned to cells in a seven-group, before/after design. Specially constructed forms of the 1973 Iowa Silent Reading…

The authors suggest solutions are emerging to the problem of attracting and retaining minority teacher candidates. Developing testwiseness programs and providing minority students with mentors and role models are discussed. (MT)

With a predominantly Black student body, Grambling State University has prevailed against the nationwide trend of low minority passing rates on teacher certification tests. This was accomplished by a determination to train students for certification and by development of specific test-taking skills. (MSE)

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…

An intervention program employing test-skills instruction and cooperative learning methods was presented to second year minority medical students at a major state supported medical school. The purpose was to enhance minority students' passing rate for Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examination. After completion of the…

An approach to improve the test-taking abilities of minority students, and especially college students, are discussed. The problem of lower performance of minorities on norm-referenced, standardized test is also considered. One approach to help improve students' scores on standardized tests is test-taking instruction and practice on simulated…

The development of an intervention program initiated by the Kentucky Department of Education to ensure that minority education majors have access to training in skills needed for standardized tests is described. (MT)

Suggests that many disadvantaged minority students lack the test wiseness that would permit them to score well on standardized tests and recommends that such students be taught how to take tests. (TJ)

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)

Using college entrance exams as a primary criterion for college admission discriminates against minorities and the poor, but the practice continues. Coaching for these exams is done in test preparation clinics. One clinic run by the NAACP substantially raised the scores of Blacks but not those of minorities as a whole. (VM)