The authors state that this monograph provides information on how teachers and other school officials may assist students to score better on tests. The emphasis is on the development of test-taking skills, rather than on cognitive development. The contents include: (1) matching objectives, instruction, and testing; (2) assessment and test anxiety;…

The Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), a new individually administered intelligence and achievement instrument, includes several subtests on which the examiner may teach the task to the subject. The purpose of this study was to determine if teaching or training could influence the test outcome and thus, lower the reliability of the…

A special preparation curriculum for the analytical section of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test was developed and administered to self-selected GRE candidates. Analyses revealed an effect that stemmed from improved performance on two of the three analytical item types formerly included in the analytical section. (Author/PN)

The objective of the present research was to investigate the effects of test-wiseness training on achievement. The study involved 208 Black, White and Hispanic students in grades three and five. An experimental training session was employed to test whether four aspects of test-wiseness (following directions, guessing, answer changing, and use of…

The effects of a test coaching program, "Scoring High on the California Achievement Test," were investigated with a sample of 876 students in grades 1, 2, 4, and 5. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to determine the effects of the program, grade level, sex, and race. Significant differences in favor of the Scoring High program…

The Research and Evaluation Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District presents a bulletin to help prepare students to do their best on achievement tests. The bulletin is divided into five sections. After an introduction, section 2, "Characteristics of Today's Standardized Achievement Tests" discusses test content, test format,…

This project examined the hypothesis that different background experiences associated with cultural grouping may lead to differences in test-taking strategies which result in score differences extraneous to the abilities the test is intended to measure. Its purposes were to confirm (or disconfirm) the cultural differences hypothesis and to provide…

Prepublication copies of an extensive test familiarization booklet were sent to a random sample of Scholastic Aptitude Test candidates. The booklet had little, if any, effect on test scores, but it did alter examinees' tendencies to omit questions and improved their confidence with various aspects of test taking. (Author/PN)

Analyzes the results of previous studies that examined the effects of teaching test-taking skills to elementary school children. Concludes that training in test-taking skills is differentially effective for various subgroups of children, longer training programs are more effective, and training is more effective in the upper elementary grades than…

This study tested the hypthesis that the reading gains of compensatory education pupils in grades one and four exposed to intensive test wiseness instruction would not differ significantly from the reading gains in a randomly assigned control group. Schools offering ESEA Title I classes (N=48) were randomly assigned to the treatment and control…

Testwiseness (TW) and its effect on the reading comprehension scores in four ethnic populations (Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo) from the Tucson Unified School District were investigated. Inservice-trained teachers presented seven classroom TW teaching and practicing sessions of 15 minutes each to students in grades 3, 5, and 7.…

Nearly 15 percent of the high school diplomas issued in the United States in 1981 were based upon performance on the Tests of General Educational Development (GED). The purpose of this study is to describe: (1) the ways that adults prepare for the test; (2) the test performance of population sub-groups, and (3) the test candidates employment and…

Two hypotheses were tested in this study: that second grade students who receive instruction and practice in nonsubstantive test taking techniques will achieve higher standardized reading test scores than second grade students who do not receive this instruction and practice both immediately following treatment and four months after treatment. The…