Evidence abounds that passive strategies such as rereading or highlighting are less effective than active strategies such as drawing models or explaining concepts to others. However, many studies have also reported that students tend to use learning strategies that they perceive as comfortable and easy, even when other strategies may be more…

This ethnographic case study, situated in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, examined the effects of full-scale provincial testing on families, its influences on homework, and familial accountability for teaching and learning. Data were drawn from family interviews, as well as letters and documents regarding homework. Teachers sensed a significant…

During the COVID pandemic, universities around the globe had to move not only their content delivery online, but also their assessments. Due to COVID causing significant upheaval in Higher Education (HE), this enforced experiment also afforded an opportunity to reflect on traditional, invigilated, closed book exams (ICBE) resulting in research and…

Exams are a form of assessment that is ubiquitous in college STEM classrooms yet is infrequently studied from the experiential perspectives of instructors or students. To better understand the forms, methods, and experiences of college STEM exams, we conducted survey-based research with instructors in anatomy and physiology courses, a well-defined…

Three examples of extant testing practices (i.e., a classroom instructor's use of a simple pre-post design, the practice of teaching to the test, and the think aloud verbal protocol) are discussed to illustrate the contention that assessment in the service of testing and learning does not necessarily involve radically different assessment…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how end-of-course general education teachers in public high schools (grades 9-12) described cognitive fatigue during the preparation and implementation of standardized testing practices in a Texas urban public school district. Prior to this study, it was not known how Texas public…

School authorities, universities, and employers often schedule multiple tests on the same day or week, causing overlapping exam preparation and a dense testing schedule. This multitask learning can be intense, under pressure, and challenge the student's mental and physical perseverance. As a result, it can compromise performance relative to a more…

Studies have investigated contextual factors such as family, school, and peer support for test preparation, and results generally indicate that students with a stronger support system are more successful at increasing their scores by the use of test preparation. One important contextual factor, often overlooked in the literature, is how a testing…

Past work has shown that generating explanations can improve both comprehension and metacomprehension outcomes. Although practice testing may sometimes improve comprehension, it is unclear if it affects metacomprehension (the ability to monitor one's understanding). The current study tested whether online homework activities involving practice…

The purpose of the study reported here was to observe the effects of examination practices on the extent to which university students procrastinate. These examination practices were: (1) limiting the number of resits, (2) compensatory rather than conjunctive decision-making about student progress, and (3) restricting the time available for…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2020 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2020…

The instructions in this manual explain the responsibilities of school administrators for the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) Grades 3-8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Grades 5 & 8 Science Tests. School administrators must be thoroughly familiar with the contents of the manual, and the policies and procedures must be followed…

This data byte explores students' open-ended responses about how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted them academically. Students commented on the impact to their opportunities for taking the ACT® test; issues of time related to taking the test, preparing for the test, and college admissions deadlines; and the greater demands being placed on them…

Language assessment literacy (LAL) is a critical field for researchers, scholars, or anyone interested in improving the language teaching environment. Understanding the basics of testing and the ability to perform testing-related activities becomes more significant in test-oriented countries. As such, in the extremely exam-oriented milieu of…

Teachers in England are under pressure to maximise their pupils' examination results, both to improve pupils' life chances and to ensure their school performs well on government accountability measures. This article reports the findings of an anonymous, online, voluntary survey of 548 teachers from secondary schools and colleges. The survey asked…