Individual differences in performance on figural analogy tests are usually attributed to quantitative differences in processing parameters rather than to qualitative differences in the formation and use of representations. Yet aptitude-related differences in categorizing standardized figural analogy problems between high and low scorers have been…

This investigation of the effect of making a set of alternatives conform grammatically to a test item stem showed there is subject sensitivity to such cues. Content-free versions of American College Testing Assessment Experimental Social Science items representing singular-plural and vowel-consonant agreement without inappropriate grammatical…

Response changes of two classes of 30 dental hygiene students each were tabulated on multiple-choice questions on quizzes, midterms, and final examinations. Response changes were classified as wrong to right, right to wrong, or wrong to wrong. Significantly more responses were changed from wrong to right than from right to wrong. (Author/CT)

Disguising scale purpose by using an innocuous skill title and filler items had no effect on the reliability and validity of Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale. (Author)

Results lend support to the notion that test-wiseness is not a general trait, but rather is clue-specific. (Authors)

It was hypothesized that using asterisks as attention focusing devices would cause students to read all asteriked test items more carefully and would improve test scores of undergraduate education students. Sixty-three undergraduates majoring in elementary or special education were administered a 36-item objective test. Asterisks were used to…

In order to assess the validity of the technique employed in selecting items for the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), 58 male and 62 female undergraduates took the BSRI under three different sets of instructions. The results support Bem's assertions that the scales are consistent with widely held sex-role stereotypes. (Author/CTM)

This article investigates positional response bias, testwiseness, and guessing strategy as components of variance in test responses on multiple-choice tests. University students responded to two content exams, a testwiseness measure, and a guessing strategy measure. The proportion of variance in test scores accounted for by positional response…

At intervals during the reading of an article, college students were asked to stop and state how they were preparing to answer an unspecified question about the article. Those students who had attempted to discern the question had significantly superior performance to those who had not devised such a strategy. (JN)

Performance on standardized figural analogy tests is considered highly predictive of academic success. While information-processing models of analogy solution attribute performance differences to quantitative differences in processing parameters, the problem-solving literature suggests that qualitative differences in problem representation and…

The booklet offers techniques to help language learning disabled college students and their tutors improve test-taking performance. The importance of mastering time management and study skills is stressed. Basic notetaking guidelines are presented, including use of a two-column system so that material on the right may be consolidated and…

The effectiveness of a strategy for improving performance on multiple choice items for examinees with different levels of test anxiety was assessed. Undergraduate measurement students responded to the Mandler-Sarason Test Anxiety Scale and to an objective test covering course content. Results indicated that, for most examinees, generation of an…

Repeated exposure to tests composed of memory items was compared to repeated exposure to tests including higher-level cognitive items and to tests composed of both item types. Other design factors were sex, ability level, subject matter sequence (science and social studies), and learning session. (A sample of 2008 eleventh-grade students…

Providing examinees with advanced knowledge of the difficulty of an item led to an increase in test performance with no loss of reliability. This finding was consistent across several test formats. ( Author/JKS)

Ninety-four college males completed a management trainees' selection test that had been developed by criterion-keying. They were instructed once to answer honestly, and once to answer as a highly motivated job applicant would. "Faking" instructions resulted in significantly higher scores. (Author/GDC)