Testing students on information that they do not know might seem like a fruitless endeavor. After all, why give anyone a test that they are guaranteed to fail because they have not yet learned the material? Remarkably, a growing body of research indicates that such testing--formally known as "prequestioning" or…

The present meta-analysis sought to quantify the average degree of aggregated test score distortion due to rapid guessing (RG). Included studies group-administered a low-stakes cognitive assessment, identified RG via response times, and reported the rate of examinees engaging in RG, the percentage of RG responses observed, and/or the degree of…

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…

Background: In testing contexts that are predominately concerned with power, rapid guessing (RG) has the potential to undermine the validity of inferences made from educational assessments, as such responses are unreflective of the knowledge, skills, and abilities assessed. Given this concern, practitioners/researchers have utilized a multitude of…

The extent to which a test's time limit alters a test taker's performance is known as speededness. The manifestation of speededness, or speeded behavior on a test, can be in the form of random guessing, leaving a substantial proportion of test items unanswered, or rushed test-taking behavior in general. Speeded responses do not depend solely on a…

Scores within the chance range are differentiated, "uninterpretable" scores being those that demonstrate randomness (broadly defined) by failing to achieve typical levels of correlation with group-determined difficulty. The relevant literature is reviewed. Finally, randomness and uninterpretability are examined in light of the…

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)

In a review of relevant literature, it is argued that correction for guessing formulas should not be used. It is contended that such formulas correct for guessing that does not really exist in a noticeable amount, penalize those students who have low self-esteem and self-confidence, correct for errors that are not necessarily errors, benefit risk…

The purpose of this article is to discuss some recent developments in the scoring of multiple-choice items from two angles. The first consists of the recent developments in the test instructions of the conventional scoring procedures, and the second consists of a discussion of new scoring methods and formulas. (Author)

Functional-level testing is fundamental to the evaluation models of the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System, although criteria for determining what is a functional-level test are unclear. Reliability and validity of test scores in the range of chance is at issue. (Author/RL)

Provides a sampling of recent program development ideas that show the varied nature of test wiseness instruction. Warns that teachers are unsophisticated test writers. (ARH)

This paper focuses on Smith's (1982) concept of test-wiseness strategies, describing several approaches that may maximize guessing on multiple-choice exams. Several previous studies indicated that the average level of performance increased when guessing was encouraged and decreased with instructions advising against guessing. Several studies were…

The research literature on short-term instruction (STI) and intermediate-term instruction (ITI) for the Scholastic Aptitude Test-mathematical section (SAT-M) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test-verbal sections (SAT-V) was reviewed. Selected studies of STI and ITI for tests other than the SAT-M and SAT-V, and of testwiseness (TW), were included in the…

This report reviews the historical development of out-of-level testing, from its inception in Title I evaluation work during the 1960s, to the present day when the widespread use of assessments or district and school accountability has been combined with requirements for including all students in assessments. This report examines the historical…

A review of 33 research studies which examined issues surrounding answer-changing behavior on objective tests indicated that (1) the majority of answer changes are from incorrect to correct, (2) most students who change their answers improve their test scores, and (3) most test-takers change answers. Future research needs are discussed. (RM)