Test-Taking Skills of High School Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study assessed the test-taking skills of 776 high school students, 35 of whom were diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD). Students completed a computerized battery of timed reading tests as well as scales that assess test anxiety and test-taking perceptions. Students with LD obtained lower scores than the nondisabled group on all of the reading tasks (speed, comprehension, vocabulary, and decoding), spent more time reviewing comprehension questions, and were less active in looking for answers in the passages. Both groups favored the same comprehension strategy of reading the entire passage and then answering questions. The groups did not differ in their levels of test anxiety or confidence in taking tests under timed conditions. Vocabulary score best discriminated between groups and best predicted reading comprehension performance, suggesting a potential target for intervention.

Effects of Concussion in Adolescent Students: Perceptions and Performance

“…Reliability estimates for these tasks are adequate (internal consistency .85 to .90; retest .65 to .80). Additional information on psychometric properties is detailed in a recent published study (Lewandowski, Lovett, Berger, & Gordon, 2016).…”

Comparing Two Response Modes in a Mathematics Test for Learners in Foundation Phase with Severe Physical Disabilities: A South African Example

“…These should move beyond allowing learners extra time to complete the test, a private room to take the test, a reader to read the test items to the learner and/or a multiple-choice format that requires responding on a separate answer sheet (Bouwer 2016;Lewandowski et al 2013;Potter et al 2015). The purpose of this study was to explore the use of an alternative response mode, namely eye gaze as a potential test accommodation with practical appeal in the classroom for teachers who teach learners with severe physical disabilities.…”

“…Teachers find the assessment of learners with severe physical disabilities challenging as the traditional formats (oral and/or written) are often inaccessible for learners with severe physical disabilities due to the nature and/or severity of their disability (Casey et al 2007). Most schools simply offer test accommodations such as additional time to complete a test, a private room in which to take the test, or a reader to read out the test items (Lewandowski et al 2013). Multiple-choice tests with a bubble-sheet response format or the circling of responses in a test booklet (to a lesser degree) are also sometimes used, seeing that they have been officially approved by education departments in the USA and in other countries (Potter et al 2015).…”

Teststrategier og testmotivasjon: Fire niendeklassingers erfaringer med nasjonal prøve i lesing

“…Et teststrategisk valg leseren blir stilt overfor, er om oppgavene eller teksten skal leses først (jf. Lewandowski, Berger, Lovett & Gordon, 2016). Å lese oppgavene først vil kunne målrette lesingen, og bruk av en overflatestrategi som å skumlese kan i slike tilfeller vaere hensiktsmessig fordi det sparer tid.…”