Guidance from Iowa Testing Program (August 2005)
| Q: |
Should all students be provided an opportunity for test preparation in advance of the actual test each year? |
Not necessarily. Test-preparation activities probably should be limited to assisting those who need help rather than for use en masse. Younger students may need more help than older ones, lower achieving students may need more than higher achieving ones, and some students in special programs may need more than those in regular programs.
Just as general instruction often is individualized, so test preparation (which is a form of instruction) should be individualized. It should be based on need. In addition, the potential negative consequences of test preparation should be considered. Outcomes such as elevated test anxiety or overconfidence about the easiness of the test tasks can result from poorly designed test preparation emphasis. (p. 7)
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