In an attempt to raise district scores, the Washington, D.C., public schools are now beginning a program to train students to take standardized tests. (IRT)

Three experiments were conducted with college psychology students to determine whether the use of filler items in Rotter's I-E scale fulfills its stated objective of obscuring the purpose of the scale. Fillers didn't effect I-E scores, impede subjects from faking good, or obscure knowledge of the scale. (Author/DEP)

Educational accountability demands that students take tests. Parents and guardians, being committed to their children's academic success, often ask teachers and other educators questions about tests and testing procedures. This chapter provides practical, straightforward responses to many of the questions parents and guardians ask about testing.…

This guide provides a survey to help readers discover their own learning styles, and then covers all the elements of study and test preparation. The guide is designed to be used 20 minutes each day so that the reader can learn to get the most out of studying. The chapters are: (1) "Getting Started"; (2) "Discovering How You Learn"; (3) "Looking…

This book is designed to help the adult learner overcome test anxiety and become an effective test taker. A survey to determine what the reader knows about test formats is followed by facts on many types of tests, help with real-world problems in test taking, reviews of writing skills for essay tests, and practice test questions. Some resources,…

After being measured for test anxiety, three groups of participants observed an experimenter, who served as a model, solve sample problems prior to performing themselves. Opportunity to observe a model who verbalized while working on problems and who stated general principles had a positive effect on performance. (Author/KM)

The advantages and assumptions of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and an alternative approach to ANCOVA which uses simultaneous and nonsimultaneous inference techniques are presented with an example of the latter's use. This approach is advocated for situations where it is suspected that dependent measures are a function of some initial aptitude…

Outlines a test wiseness program for elementary school students and presents guidelines for its implementation. The program is designed to help children overcome test anxiety and develop study skills to improve performance on standardized tests. Topics include understanding directions and wise use of time. (JAC)

To obtain information on the efficacy of college essay tests a study was undertaken to determine strategies used by students in answering essay tests. Expressing a similar opinion to the teacher's is the most common strategy. This finding casts doubt on the assumption that essay tests provide opportunity for students to exercise creativity and…

Reviews materials in the ERIC data base that can be used to teach students test-wiseness skills such as cue- using strategies, time using, error avoidance, guessing, deductive reasoning, answering analogies, and answering multiple choice questions. (MKM)

Evaluated the effectiveness of 13 different Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory taking direction techniques. Results indicated that from 10 percent to 81 percent of the variance associated with faking can be accounted for by various detection strategies. These techniques are recommended for clinical use. (Author)

Offers instructional suggestions for helping students understand the specialized language used in standardized tests they will encounter. (SG)

This review of research on Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire discusses results related to mean occupational profiles, Holland types, and performance prediction. Suggestions for interpretation and computer use are made. (SK)

Conducted workshop for high school seniors, 50 of whom had taken Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and 50 of whom had taken Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). After completion of six-hour program on application of game-playing strategies to SAT, both retakers and first-time takers of SAT (who had previously taken PSAT) raised their scores…

College students (n=241) completed Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) under different instructional sets. Found index of differential endorsement of subtle and obvious MCMI items to discriminate more strongly than MCMI Validity Scale between subjects instructed to answer honestly and subjects instructed to fake good, fake bad, or portray…