In two trials, subjects completed the Depression Adjective Checklist as they felt, or were instructed to "fake good,""fake bad," or "fake average." Discussed findings for "fake bad" and "fake good" in terms of ability of an examiner to detect the manipulative set through grossly deviant scores.…

The article presents a review of test abuse and misuse with the Chicano. It reviews several measures undertaken to rectify abuses and misuses of tests but that have frequently been the source of new problems while not really ameliorating the basic condition, e.g., test translations, adding points, renorming test scores, and importing tests. (NQ)

Many states have limitations on the number of times a student may retake the bar exams, but a variety of preparatory techniques can increase chances of success: hypnosis, reduction of test anxiety, better studying techniques. (Journal availability: 1155 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637, $1.00.) (MSE)

High and low academic achievers from each of two grades, fourth and seventh, were assigned to one of two experimental conditions. Some were told they were going to take a test. Others were told they would play a game. Findings suggest that game task-definition does not always enhance performance. (Author/BEF)

A method of study which is inefficient but used by large numbers of students taking courses in mathematics is described. The wide relevance of the problem, for subjects other than mathematics, is also examined. (MP)

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)

Nineteen multiple-choice nursing tests containing 673 items were analyzed for test wiseness, irrelevant difficulty in stem or option, linguistic/structural bias, or cultural bias. Twenty-eight types of flaws occurred at least 10 times each. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

Examined impact of intervention emphasizing metacognitive awareness to develop practical intelligence for school in middle school subjects. Found that program enhances practical and academic skills in reading, writing, homework, and test-taking in students from diverse SES backgrounds attending diverse types of schools. Evaluated results in terms…

Evaluated the effects of the study skills enhancement technique taught at Bowling Green State University Study Skills Laboratory on the test-taking performance of Sociology 101 students. Found that those students who participated in the program four or more hours per week performed better on tests. (SLM)

The effect on examinee performance of the rule that multiple-choice (MC) test items require the acceptance of 1 choice was examined for 106 dental students presented with choices in MC and multiple true-false formats. MC items force examinees to select one choice, which causes artificial acceptance of correct/incorrect choices. (SLD)

Explains the effects of examination fear and anxiety on student performance. Cites ways instructors can intervene to help alleviate the problem and better promote learning. (RT)

This literature review considers instructional and testing strategies for General Education Development (GED) adult students with learning disabilities. The GED test is described, and specific instructional strategies from the literature are identified for the areas of writing skills, science, social studies, literature and art, and mathematics.…

British students completed assessments examining the extent to which they could control variables and ways factors like question format and context affected their test performance. Factors within the questions, rather than skills themselves, led to large variations in facility. Aspects of the questions themselves were the most significant…

Test-taking strategies that examinees may use without reading the passages on which reading comprehension questions are based, similar to those of the new Scholastic Assessment Test, were studied with 350 high school juniors. Strategies most often used involved choosing answers based on consistency and reconstructing main themes from other…

Several analyses are presented on the relationships among the Test of Spoken English, Test of Written English, and Test of English as a Foreign Language. The multivariate prediction of each test from the scores on the others is very accurate; variances with two prominent factors may relate to specific cognitive test-taking skills. (eight…