Appropriate Test Preparation: Can We Reach a Consensus?

Abstract

Although standardized tests have been in use for years, there is a lack of consensus about what constitutes appropriate student preparation for testing. Popham (1991) demonstrated that teachers and administrators view preparation in different ways and noted that there is considerable diversity of opinion about which practices are appropriate and inappropriate. Other researchers have attempted to create standards or guidelines for determining appropriate testing practice, but these do not appear to capture the diversity of teacher-initiated preparation. Do teachers and testing specialists see preparation in the same way? What practices fall into the grey area of being not appropriate but not necessarily unethical? This study examines eight categories (40 practices) of preparation or teacher intervention to maximize student test performance. Teachers (N = 42) and testing specialists (N = 10) were asked to examine practices and determine how appropriate or inappropriate the practices were for a specified tes...