Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course,
tutoring
Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...
service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase
students' performance on
standardized tests. Examples of these tests include
entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...
, such as
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
(e.g. the
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
and
ACT),
business school (the
GMAT
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT ( ())) is a computer adaptive test (CAT) intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management ...
),
law school (the
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...
or
LNAT
The National Admissions Test for Law, or LNAT, is an admissions aptitude test that was adopted in 2004 by eight UK university law programmes as an admissions requirement for home applicants. The test was established at the leading urgency of Oxf ...
),
medical school (the
MCAT
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT; ) is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students (both Allopathic M.D. and Ostepathic D.O.) in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Caribbean Islands. It is designe ...
),
BMAT,
UKCAT and
GAMSAT
The Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (commonly known as the GAMSAT, formerly Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test) is a test used to select candidates applying to study medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy and veterinary s ...
and
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
(the
GRE
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Servi ...
) and qualifying examinations for admission to
gifted education
Gifted education (also known as gifted and talented education (GATE), talented and gifted programs (TAG), or G/T education) is a broad group of special practices, procedures, and theories used in the education of children who have been identified a ...
programs.
Preparation options
There are many resources and services on which students may draw as they prepare for standardized tests, including:
*
Courses: Many test preparation courses are designed to expose students to the breadth of topics tested on the relevant exam and guide them through the process of studying.
*
Flashcards: Index cards imprinted with information used as a study aid to reinforce memory retention.
*
Mind Maps
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
: Mind maps allow students to visually organize relevant concepts and information, showing relationships among pieces of the whole.
* Mock exams: Mock exams are practice exams that help students prepare for the real exam. They are intended to give students a clear indication of the structure and content of the actual exam, as well as a snapshot of their current performance.
*
Study groups: Studying as group facilitates collaboration and exposes students to different perspectives on the material.
*
Study Guides: Various organizations and individuals produce published materials that students can incorporate into their preparation.
*
Tutor
TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...
s: A tutor is a person with whom students work one-on-one to improve academic performance, in this case on an exam.
Resource providers
Most companies and educators that offer test preparation services also offer traditional (hard copy) such as books and printed materials and technology or online-based learning tools, such as content accessible on hand-held devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. So do most test makers, publishers of self-help, instructional and educational materials, and makers of hardware and software.
Test makers
*
ACT, Inc.
ACT, Inc. is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities, NTEE classification ''B90, Educational Services'', per the Internal Revenue Service, IRS), primarily known for the ACT (test), ACT, a standardized te ...
- publisher of the
ACT
*
American Council on Education
The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...
(ACE) - publisher of the
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
test
*
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) - publisher of the
MCAT
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT; ) is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students (both Allopathic M.D. and Ostepathic D.O.) in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Caribbean Islands. It is designe ...
test
*
College Board - publisher of the
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
test
*
Educational Testing Service (ETS) - publisher of the
GRE
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Servi ...
and
TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities a ...
tests
*
Elsevier
Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...
- publisher of the
HESI exam
*
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) - publisher of the
GMAT
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT ( ())) is a computer adaptive test (CAT) intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management ...
*
Harcourt Assessment
Harcourt Assessment was a company that published and distributed educational and psychological assessment tools and therapy resources and provided educational assessment and data management services for national, state, district and local assessme ...
- publisher of the
Miller Analogies Test
The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is a standardized test used both for graduate school admissions in the United States and entrance to high I.Q. societies. Created and still published by Harcourt Assessment (now a division of Pearson Education), t ...
(MAT)
*
Law School Admissions Council
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit organization whose members include more than 200 law schools throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Its headquarters are in Newtown, Pennsylvania (about 15 miles north of Phila ...
(LSAC) - publisher of the
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...
test
*
National Restaurant Association
The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The associa ...
- publisher of the
ServSafe
*
Testing Mom -
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...
test prep for parents of
gifted education
Gifted education (also known as gifted and talented education (GATE), talented and gifted programs (TAG), or G/T education) is a broad group of special practices, procedures, and theories used in the education of children who have been identified a ...
; testing and skill building
Third parties
*
Barron's Educational Series
Kaplan, Inc. is an American for-profit corporation that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety of test pre ...
- publisher of books and educational materials
*
CliffsNotes
CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company clai ...
- publisher of study guides
* The
Complete Idiot's Guides
The ''Complete Idiot's Guides'' is a product line of how-to and other reference books published by Dorling Kindersley (DK). The books in this series provide a basic understanding of a complex and popular topics. The term "idiot" is used as hyperb ...
- publisher of instructional reference books
*
For Dummies - publisher of instructional/reference books
*
Gary Gruber
Gary R. Gruber (November 19, 1940 - August 27, 2019) was an American theoretical physicist, educator, and author who wrote books and software programs for test preparation.
His work focused on test-taking and critical thinking skills. His writings ...
- educator and author
*
McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...
- publisher of books and educational materials
*
Peterson's
Peterson's, founded in 1966, is an American company that has a wide range of print and digital products and services, including test preparation, career exploration tools, memory retention techniques, and school, financial aid, and scholarship se ...
- publisher of books and educational materials
*
SparkNotes - publisher of study guides
*
Study Notes - publisher of study guides
*
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
- technology company that offers test-maker approved calculators and a variety of test preparation and test-taking tools
Criticism
Some test-preparation programs have been proven to help students improve test scores, but others may have little effect.
Test preparation for the SAT and the GMAT is a highly lucrative field.
A lot of people have criticism towards exams and testing in the primary and high school environment, the number one type of testing in Australia that receives criticism is NAPLAN. Parents and teachers have put forward numerous cases stating the stress it is having on children and how pointless it is.
[{{Cite web, url=http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/auscurric/articles/naplan_timeforadeepbreath.pdf, title=Time to take a breath]
See also
*
Cram school
*
Australian education system
*
ATAR
Atar, Atash, or Azar ( ae, 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, translit=ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to ...
References
School examinations
Standardized tests
Student assessment and evaluation
Preparedness