69ý

Assessment

Online Test-Preparation Habits Examined

By Andrew Trotter — October 05, 2004 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

One of the largest studies to examine high school and college students’ online test-preparation habits found that they tend to spend more time doing vocabulary drills and word analogies than answering questions from reading passages, that they avoid math and science exercises, and that they wait until the last couple of weeks to begin studying.

That study pattern will be a problem for SAT-takers beginning next year, because analogies will be dropped, and more reading-comprehension and writing items will be added, according to Eric Loken, the lead researcher of the study, which was published in the August issue of the Journal of Educational ComputingResearch.

“We don’t know whether [those habits are] a symptom of how people use the Internet to study or the general inclination of what people do when they buy books, too,” said Mr. Loken. “All the clicking may make you want to go through the quick and easy stuff, to power through it.”

The study focused on 100,000 high school and post-high-school students who used www.number2.com, a free test-preparation service, before taking the SAT, the ACT, or the Graduate Record Examination, the admissions test that many graduate programs require.

The students, who had to register and log in to use the service, were monitored between Dec. 8, 2001, and Dec. 8, 2002, about their visits to the different content areas, whether they completed tutorials, and how they performed on the practice items.

The ability to track the use of the site gave researchers insight that they don’t get when students use test-preparation books and courses, said Mr. Loken, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

About 55,000 of the students examined in the study were preparing for the SAT, 22,000 for the ACT, and 26,000 for the GRE. 69ý getting ready for the ACT and SAT tended to use the site most actively within two weeks of the national test dates.

Fewer than 30 percent of the SAT and GRE students attempted any math questions. Only 20 percent attempted any reading-comprehension exercises even though those questions account for half the total verbal score on the tests.

The ACT is the only test that includes science questions, but only 20 percent of high school students planning to take the ACT practiced for the science section.

Profiling Test-Takers

“There are basically three types of students: a group that wasn’t going to answer any question, a group that would answer both math and verbal, and a big group in the middle that could be pushed one way or another by order of presentation,” Mr. Loken said.

Mr. Loken and the other researchers—Filip Radlinski of Cornell University, Vincent H. Crespi of Penn State, Josh Millet of XAP Corp., and Lesleigh Cushing of Colgate University— were the original developers of the online test-preparation service, which is now owned by the Culver City, Calif.-based XAP.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the September 01, 2004 edition of Education Week as Online Test-Preparation Habits Examined

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Assessment Opinion 69ý Shouldn't Have to Pass a State Test to Graduate High School
There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step, writes a former high school teacher.
Alex Green
4 min read
Reaching hands from The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo illustration representing the creation or origins of of high stakes testing.
Frances Coch/iStock + Education Week
Assessment Opinion Why Are Advanced Placement Scores Suddenly So High?
In 2024, nearly three-quarters of students passed the AP U.S. History exam, compared with less than half in 2022.
10 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Assessment Grades and Standardized Test Scores Aren't Matching Up. Here's Why
Researchers have found discrepancies between student grades and their scores on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.
5 min read
Student writing at a desk balancing on a scale. Weighing test scores against grades.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
Assessment Why Are States So Slow to Release Test Scores?
Nearly a dozen states still haven't put out scores from spring tests. What's taking so long?
7 min read
Illustration of a man near a sheet of paper with test scores on which lies a magnifying glass and next to it is a question mark.
iStock/Getty