Teacher education candidates who had failed admission tests were coached in test taking and taught relaxation techniques. Three passed a retake immediately and three others within 3 months. Strategies such as affirmations, appeals to different learning modalities, positive anchors, and mental dress rehearsals can help students deal with test…

Studies the effect of knowing the test as one aspect of a test preparation strategy with 57 premedical post-baccalaureate students. Finds that results emphasize the value of first-hand experience with a facsimile of a test and the importance of analyzing the structure and format to improve test performance. (NH)

Lists and discusses the functions that cooperative quizzes can serve if structured correctly. The quizzes can facilitate a greater understanding of the subject, promote better test-taking skills, and be used as a mechanism to foster cooperative groups. (DDR)

Describes how the author prepares students for the test using genre study and problem-solving strategies. Notes how she struggles with questions about the role that tests play in schools and in children's lives. Notes the importance of teaching students how to take the test, but recognizes it has become more important to help them understand the…

Instruction targeted at increasing student content mastery is the most ethical approach to test preparation and also addresses the overall goal of improving student achievement. Sound and varied classroom assessments can help address efficient time usage and reduce the gap between teaching and standardized testing. (Contains 21 references.) (MLH)

In the class session following feedback regarding their scores on multiple-choice exams, undergraduate students in a large human development course rated the strength of possible contributors to their exam performance. Students rated items related to their personal effort in preparing for the exam (identified as student effort in the paper), their…

This article advocates making the provision of opportunities for learning the main objective of language testing. It recognizes the need for tests to be fair, valid, and reliable, but asserts the priority of what it calls "learning validity", in order to prevent time being wasted on language courses on tests, and the preparation for them. The…

Online practice tests and quizzes are commonly available to higher education students. The extent of student use of such study tools and the relationship of use to achievement, however, have not been fully investigated. One hundred twelve college students were encouraged to use optional online quizzes in preparation for proctored examinations.…

This book helps educators improve students' ability to write clear, coherent essays in response to on-demand writing prompts. While it focuses on students' abilities to succeed at on-demand writing, it also promotes the teaching of writing as an expression of art and self. For grades 4-12, it provides examples of responses to narrative and…

In this selective look at research on test-taking strategies over the last 25 years, brief mention is made of the beginnings of test-taker strategy research, and then important developments in its evolution to the present are discussed, focusing on conceptual frameworks for classifying strategies, first and second language-related strategies,…

Noting that students must at some point begin to assume responsibility for their own learning to become mature, independent members of society, this pamphlet is designed to help students get started in taking studying seriously. The pamphlet presents: (1) 7 suggestions on when to study; (2) 6 ideas on where to study; (3) 13 suggestions on what to…

A study was conducted to determine to what extent college teacher-made multiple-choice tests contain test-wiseness clues that can be used to identify correct answers. A sample of 43 undergraduate teacher-made examinations was obtained from two colleges and three universities. The sample included midterm and final examinations and quizzes. The…

Two variations of desensitization therapy for reducing test anxiety were studied, active desensitization in which the client describes his visualizations of the scenes and vicarious desensitization in which the client merely observes the desensitization treatment of another test anxious client. The relaxation treatment which emphasized application…

Thirty university students enrolled in an eight-session study skills program. Fifteen subjects were required to teach the contents of each session to a friend, and the remaining 15 subjects constituted an nonteaching control. All subjects reported significantly better study habits following the program. (Author)

A discussion of appropriate ways of preparing students to take standardized tests is presented for school administrators. The point at which preparation practices move beyond the ethical depends on the inferences one wishes to draw from test scores. Inferences drawn from test scores are general in nature and will be inaccurate if instruction is…