This leaflet describes simple techniques for developing children's ability to do well on tests, as derived from research done through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Suggestions for parents are divided into five sections: (1) Why Test?; (2) Ask the School; (3) Avoid Test Anxiety; (4) Do's and Don'ts; and (5) After the Test.…

This was a replicative study that was initiated with a journeyman level certification instrument for an international union, when industry monitors were observed suggesting to examinees to "go with your first response." The question arose whether this was a researched-based practice. If not, wouldn't this practice inject constant error…

This series of one-page study guides offers helpful hints and tips to students on the art of successful studying. The guides in this collection include: (1) Improving Your Test-Taking Skills, which covers preparing for tests, reducing test anxiety, and things to do upon receiving a test and before turning in a test; (2) Strategies for Test…

A description is presented of an improvement program that focused upon a small, flexible, open primary school. The school had been targeted for improvement because of rather low test scores. Improvement efforts focused on findings from four basic strands of school research: (1) structured learning environment; (2) academic feedback; (3) high…

In self-adapted testing, examinees are allowed to choose the difficulty of each item to be presented immediately before attempting it. Previous research has demonstrated that self-adapted testing leads to better performance than do fixed-order tests and is preferred by examinees. The present study examined the strategies that 29 college students…

This paper develops a conceptual model involving curricular, instructional/guidance, and assessment perspectives on the promotion of study skills and test-taking techniques among secondary school students. From the curricular standpoint, consideration is given to a recommended range of topical coverage and a diversified array of printed/mediated…

This handbook is intended to illustrate to students that they are not alone in their fear of tests and to help students reduce their own test anxiety. The handbook is a compilation of writings contributed by students who attended an adult basic education (ABE) program to prepare teenage and adult students to take the General Educational…

These six learning modules were developed for Lake Michigan College's Basic Science Training Program, a workshop to develop good study skills while reviewing basic science. The first module, which was designed to provide students with the necessary skills to study efficiently, covers the following topics: time management; an overview of a study…

The quality of mathematics multiple choice items and their susceptibility to test wiseness were examined. Test wiseness was defined as "a subject's capacity to utilize the characteristics and formats of the test and/or test taking situation to receive a high score." The study used results of the Graduate Record Examinations Aptitude Test (GRE) and…

This investigation examines the impact the l98l Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test Format Revision had on the stability over time of the verbal, quantitative, and analytical scores. Scores were used from the self-selected group of repeaters who took the GRE General Test twice between October 1980 and June 1982. Examinees were divided…

So that comparisons of achievement test scores across campuses would be unaffected by variations in test preparation activities, the Austin Independent School District has set out to standardize all testwiseness instructions and practice testing across the school system. Appropriate preparation activity was defined as that which contributes to…

Parallel studies, by Sally L. Lusk at the University of Michigan, and by Linda Petty at Hampton Institute (Virginia), tested the hypothesis that students with a high amount of test anxiety would derive the greatest benefit from using information retrieval aids in the form of notecards during an examination. Also examined was the relationship…

This program of research has three general thrusts. First, the relations between motivation and achievement performance were studied across children of various sociocultural backgrounds including lower- and middle- class white, black, and hispanic children. Motivational test bias was found to be strong for students of all sociocultural…

Guidelines are presented to help college students prepare for taking tests, with particular instructions for objective, essay, and quantitative tests. A check list suggests the types of information which should be known before starting to study for a test--such as type of questions and probable content. Techniques for studying include outlining…

This study investigated the effects of instruction and practice in test-taking techniques upon the standardized reading scores of 7 remedial, 19 developmental, and 9 advanced reading students in the sixth grade. "The Nelson Reading Test (Revised Edition), Form A" served as a pretest. Both constructed and commercial materials were used to instruct…