Two experiments were conducted (a) to evaluate how providing background information at test may benefit retrieval and (b) to further examine how providing background information prior to study influences encoding. Half of the participants read background information prior to study, and the other half did not. In each group, half were presented…

The focus of this report is to summarize the research that has been conducted thus far on the new SAT Writing section. The evidence provided reveals that the new writing section has satisfactory psychometric quality in that its reliability is acceptable; it is significantly related to first-year college GPA and college English grades; it has been…

After-school or out-of-school programs offer additional social, academic, and extracurricular activities and experiences to supplement the regular school day. College preparation programs offer activities that are designed to enable youth to prepare for a variety of college-related tasks, with services including test preparation, academic…

Counselor Education professors can assist students with comprehensive examination preparation. The first author, a graduate student in counseling, developed these ideas while studying for the comprehensive examination for the Master of Science degree program in counseling. All five members of her study group passed the examination the first time.

As public employees, educators should expect to be held accountable for their use of public funds. Nonetheless, the various state governments and now the U.S. Department of Education have implemented high-stakes achievement testing as the nearly singular approach to accountability. While these accountability efforts vary in a number of ways,…

Although many students and teachers may believe otherwise, answer changing can be helpful in test taking. This study examined the effects of having a teacher lecture on answer changing as a beneficial test strategy. Participants (N=470) were college students randomly assigned to intervention or nonintervention treatments. In the intervention…

Describes software packages used to help prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test, considering features that the packages have in common as well as unique features that each package has. Also lists and ranks the products and their features in a chart (indicating system requirements and current cost). (JN)

Identifies general and specific skills for taking tests. Contends that students who use effective general test-taking skills improve their performance on standardized tests. (JDH)

Suggests class activities in three short articles including: (1) "Students Evaluate Reading," by Lenore Sandel; (2) "Solving Verbal Analogies," by Edward J. Dwyer; and (3) "Becoming Testwise," by Dean Schoen. (RS)

Parents and teachers can help relieve student test-taking anxiety by redirecting the student from fear of failure toward productive study skills. (DF)

Presents a musical play designed to orient students to standardized tests by promoting appropriate test-taking skills and attitudes. Suggests effective staging techniques. (ABB)

The effectiveness of test-taking skills training was studied by calculating test performance quantitative indices of effect magnitude from data in 24 studies. Longer training programs produced significantly greater achievement gains than shorter programs, supporting recommendations for test-taking training in schools. (Author/MT)

Describes study to determine effect on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of coaching with a microcomputer software program, Computer SAT. Results indicate mathematics scores are improved by computer coaching with no difference between effectiveness of individual or small group computer use, and verbal scores are improved by small group use.…

This paper provides information about the efficacy of a model for preparing teacher candidates for the Arizona teacher licensure examination (i.e., Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments [AEPA]). The model includes test familiarization, drill and practice with feedback, training in strategies for specific item types, and general test…

Test takers were asked to report which, if any, methods they used to help prepare for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The study began with the 1991-1992 academic testing year and ended with the 1996-1997 academic testing year. More than 100,000 students responded in each of the years, with the exception of a smaller sample in 1996-1997…