This study analyzed questionnaire and interview data on teachers' practices and perceptions with respect to test preparation. Questionnaire respondents were asked to rate the ethicality of various test-preparation practices and indicate the extent to which they utilize these practices in their instruction. On the basis of questionnaire results,…

This quiz and its explanations are designed to help teachers and counselors assist students in deciding the meaning of their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Test. (BW)

Discusses appropriate ways to prepare students for performance assessments and proposes a list of six guidelines for teaching to performance assessments. The focus is on elementary and secondary education. It is believed that these guidelines will help balance the domain and sample problem. (SLD)

Several available summaries of research on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are summarized and their principal findings discussed. Some additional studies, that have been completed since these summaries were reported, are considered and linked to the summaries. The four major meta-analyses considered are those of: (1) Messick and…

Test developers have an obligation to create the most appropriate assessment instruments possible as L. J. Kilian argues, but whether they do or not, educators still are responsible for providing test preparation that is professionally ethical and educationally defensible. (SLD)

Cohen and Hyman's response contains several misunderstandings of the original article by Mehrens and Kaminski. One frequently wishes to make inferences to a domain from a test, but teaching a specific performance and testing for that performance does not allow for a domain inference. (SLD)

The increased use of test scores as a measure of school quality is discussed. Legitimate and illegitimate practices of test preparation are considered. Some commercial test preparation programs are reviewed, with some conclusions about their effectiveness and desirability. (SLD)

This paper responds to an article that criticizes S. A. Cohen's position on the application of instructional alignment to teaching test wiseness. The value and ethics of using certain types of norm-referenced tests are criticized, based on data for the Missouri Mastery Achievement Test. (TJH)

Some of the benefits available from using computers to administer the kinds of tests that are familiar in educational settings are reviewed. Four applications that represent current or near-term enhancements of assessment are discussed: computerized adaptive testing, diagnostic testing, test preparation, and administration of simulations of…

Several available summaries of research on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are described, and their principal findings are discussed. Several additional studies are reviewed, and their findings are related to the summaries. Overall, the effects of coaching may be less than many students suppose. (SLD)

Results of a 1987 report indicating that elementary students of all states were above the national average are assessed. Issues addressed include teaching for standardized tests, the effect of teaching on national norms, and alternatives available to protect the integrity of instruction and the validity of normed test scores. (TJH)

Effects of standardized testing on teaching and learning were studied in a survey of 341 elementary school teachers in 9 states, focusing on the meaning of test scores and test-score gains. Results indicate that standardized testing has considerable effects, and that teachers feel considerable pressure to improve student scores. (SLD)

A survey of 2,256 teachers, testing coordinators, principals, and superintendents on ethical issues related to norm-referenced test (NRT) administration and practice found that 44 percent believed that colleagues engage in practices that are blatant cheating, and 78 percent believed that teaching information only because it is on the test occurs.…

Guidelines for appropriate test preparation practices are presented to ensure that tests used in high-stakes situations generate scores that represent their domains validly. These guidelines do not rely directly on two evaluative standards proposed by W. J. Popham (1991), although they share the concern for appropriate test preparation. (SLD)

Arizona teachers and administrators (n=2,444) were surveyed to determine (1) use of standardized test scores; (2) teachers' perceptions of others' use of scores; (3) how schools prepare students to take tests; (4) conditions under which tests are given; and (5) views of current testing program effects. (SLD)