Preparing at-risk youth and students with mild disabilities for state and district tests is important for improving their test performance, and basic instruction in test preparation can significantly improve student test performance. The article defines noncognitive variables that adversely affect test-taker performance. The article also describes…

For a number of years now, South Africa, like many other countries, has been debating a major paradigm shift in education, a shift from learning and teaching, which focused primarily on content to learning and teaching focused on outcomes. One of the most dramatic trends in education over the past decade has been the shift towards the use of…

Instructors commonly use exam reviews to help students prepare for exams and to increase student success. The current study compared the effects of traditional, trivia, and practice test-based exam reviews on actual exam scores, as well as students' attitudes toward each review. Findings suggested that students' exam scores were significantly…

To assess the effect of a 4-question reflective learning technique on quiz performance, students engaged in an interactive activity, responded to 4 questions to encourage analyzing (i.e., what was learned), reflecting (i.e., why it is important), relating (i.e., how the material related to their personal lives), and generating (i.e., what…

Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. Who better to teach you how to prepare your students for reading tests than someone who has written them? Charles Fuhrken has spent years working with several major testing companies and…

Despite their current popularity, many still view coaching schools for college admissions as somehow vaguely unethical, as a form of "teaching to the test." But "coaching" as an instructional exercise only crosses some ethical line of propriety when instructors have access to and in fact teach the actual items that will appear…

Although much is known about how students perform on standardized tests, little research exists concerning how students think and process while taking such tests. This mixed methods action research study was designed to investigate if a constructivist approach to test preparation could yield improved results for 37 English language arts freshmen…

This study examined the effects of teaching a test-taking strategy to 4 fourth- and fifth-grade students with mild mental disabilities on reading and math achievement. The intervention consisted of a direct and explicit instructional method using a mnemonic strategy. The participants' acquisition and application of the test-taking strategy on…

By viewing standardized reading tests as a unique genre that could be taught, the author designed a two-week genre study for her reading workshop. The article describes how she planned, taught, and reflected on the unit. This genre study resolved some of the dilemmas she faced around preparing students for mandated testing. (Contains 1 table and 2…

Reviews common errors in accounting tests that students commit resulting from deficiencies in fundamental prior knowledge, ineffective test taking, and inattention to detail and provides solutions to the problems. (JOW)

Offers seven steps for students to follow when writing an examination answer. (HOD)

Teachers can do something to help ensure students will do better on tests. They can actively teach test-taking skills so pupils will be better armed in the battle to acquire knowledge. The author challenges teachers to use the suggestions provided in this article in the classroom, and to share them with their students. Test-taking strategies will…

Suggests techniques for teaching students to comprehend test questions in a manner that requires them to think about both what is in the question and what could be in the passage. (HOD)

Describes a test-taking course designed to prepare seventh-grade students for the SAT.

Describes research about and teaching techniques for test-taking skills. (MKM)