Social scientists have long agreed that satisficing behavior increases error and reduces the validity of survey data. There have been numerous reviews on detecting satisficing behavior, but preventing this behavior has received less attention. The current narrative review provides empirically supported guidance on preventing satisficing by…

In Ramsay-curve item response theory (RC-IRT), the latent variable distribution is estimated simultaneously with the item parameters. In extant Monte Carlo evaluations of RC-IRT, the item response function (IRF) used to fit the data is the same one used to generate the data. The present simulation study examines RC-IRT when the IRF is imperfectly…

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)

Nonrestricted-answer, multiple-choice test items are recommended as a way of including more facts and fewer incorrect answers in test items, and they do not cue successful guessing as restricted multiple choice items can. Examination construction, scoring, and reliability are discussed. (MSE)

A teacher explains two techniques he has used in high school English classes to increase students' confidence in their own abilities, by helping them to rely less on guessing when it comes to spelling and test-taking and more on realistic assessments of their own performance. (SJL)

Because test scores reflect not only a student's knowledge in a given area, but also his or her familiarity with cues present in the test, and because tests are so prevalent and important in schools, there is a great need to teach test wiseness skills. It is ethical to do so if no material from the final test is included. Certain principles and…

This book is designed to help students become better test takers. It is intended for teachers, but would be helpful to parents who think that their children's test scores do not completely represent their knowledge or abilities. Test taking skills are those skills that, when used effectively, contribute to a "test-wise" individual who can use…

This handbook provides guidelines for teaching test-taking skills to students of all grade levels to help the students raise their standardized test scores. Topics covered include: understanding instructions and following directions, efficient use of time, intelligent guessing, and application of special strategies for multiple-choice and…

Discusses some difficulties that medical students experience in taking exams containing multiple choice questions. Differentiates between multiple true/false type questions, in which several answers may be true, and one-out-of-four type, in which only one answer is correct. Provides tips for taking and making multiple choice tests. (TW)

Gives examples of major sources of unreliability in multiple choice items in health professions classroom achievement tests (clues to response combinations, mutually exclusive alternatives, implausible distractors) and offers some suggestions for eliminating them when writing such tests. (MF)

This guide describes 94 classroom games designed to teach communicative skills in English as a second language, allowing students to use communication strategies in English in realistic situations similar to those in which they would use their native language. An introductory section outlines the rationale for the use of games in communicative…