The effects of test-wiseness materials on standardized test performance of preschool disadvantaged children

Evidence was sought to test the claim that many young children lack the abilities prerequisite to taking standardized tests and, therefore, perform poorly. After identifying a number of prerequisite abilities, curricular materials were designed and implemented in an effort to increase the test-wiseness of children unfamiliar with standardized tests. Children from Head Start classes worked with the materials twice a week for six weeks. The experimental group improved significantly on Total Score and the Matching subtest of the Metropolitan Readiness Test administered immediately after completing the instruction. However, group differences, when measured four months later, were not significant.