Not aimed at beginning or elementary spellers, this book contains more than 100 tests interspersed with various informative items, pertinent quotations, amusing anecdotes, and lightly historical discourses relating to the orthography of English. The tests in the book represent a rather extensive vocabulary (a person who takes all of the tests is…

Discusses the conflicts between the way teachers try to teach children and the way they measure what children have learned. Reprint from January 1960 "Elementary School Journal." (JMB)

Specific and detailed instructions to implement an environmental engineering approach to the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test for Psychology are outlined. Focus is on helping students prepare for this test. Some universities use the GRE as a measure of achievement and aptitude and as a criterion test. In truth, such a test does not…

This paper reviews the differences between two interpretations accounting for the poor test performance of high anxious students: (1) that anxiety interferes with retrieval of prior learning; or (2) that, due to study skills deficits, the initial acquisition by anxious students is less thorough than by those lower in anxiety. Research results…

Investigates the effects of personality types on the effectiveness of various treatment procedures in reducing test anxiety. Fails to support previous studies in which group application of counseling techniques reduced anxiety more than did a study skills group. (Author/PC)

The use of Guttman weights in scoring tests is discussed. Scores of 2,500 men on one subtest of the CEED-SAT-Verbal Test were examined using cross-validated Guttman weights. Several scores were compared, as follows: Scores obtained from cross-validated Guttman weights; Scores obtained by rounding the Guttman weights to one digit, ranging from 0 to…

Contrary to popular belief, and in accordance with research over a long period of time, changed answers to objective test items tend to be correct. (MJB)

The consequences of formula scoring versus number right scoring are examined in relation to the assumptions commonly made about the behavior of examinees in testing situations. The choice between the two is shown to be dependent upon having reduced error variance or unbiasedness as a goal. (Author/JKS)

The test wiseness of inner city fifth and sixth grade pupils was investigated using a multiple choice test based upon fictitious material. Test wiseness was shown to exist and to be unrelated to verbal ability measures. The similarity of these findings to others in the literature is discussed. (Author/JKS)

An experiment involving a Group X Training or No-training design does not logically permit conclusions concerning the genetic or nongenetic causes of the main effect of the group differences or their interaction with treatments, nor can such a design reflect on the culture-fairness of the measuring instrument. For related article, see TM 502 302.…

Students with learning disabilities can prepare for the SATs (Stanford Achievement Tests) by (1) counseling sessions to discuss college prerequisites and pre-admission tests; (2) taking more academic courses or procuring necessary remedial help; (3) school personnel identifying and correcting skill weaknesses; and (4) discussing abuses and uses of…

Scores on multiple-choice and free-response tasks were compared for three age groups of hearing-impaired subjects with comparable reading comprehension scores. Results suggest that hearing-impaired students' performance on comprehension measures, when reinspection is permitted, is not related to age but instead may be related to particular…

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.…