When and Where Did I Find It: I found this word when reviewing information for my students about study skills. "Millman, Bishop, and Ebel (1965) defined test wiseness as the 'capacity to utilize the characteristics and formats of the test and/or the test taking situation to receive a high score Test wiseness is logically independent of an examinee's knowledge of the subject matter' (p. 707)" (as cited in McKenna & Robinson, 2006, p. 294).
Full citation McKenna, M. C. & Robinson, R.D. (2006). Teaching through text: Reading and writing in the content areas (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
What it means: The term is defined in the sentence above. Interestingly enough, McKenna and Robinson elaborate that to teach test-wiseness, teachers need to adopt "a three-part policy. First, they should teach students strategies that promise to make their test taking more efficient and to display their achievement to best advantage. Second, they should become aware of techniques calculated to improve scores in the absence of achievement. Finally, the should not teach these strategies but should instead construct tests that are impervious to their use." (McKenna & Robinson, pp. 295-296).
Level of Familiarity: I am familiar with this concept.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. I think it is useful to understand that performing well on a test does not just require one to know the information but also to know the types of tasks on the test.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: Test wiseness is certainly a useful competency to have as it would obviously benefit one's academic level of achievement.
No comments:
Post a Comment