Four Tulane University Students Studying January 2008

Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s' performance on

standardized test A standardized test is a Test (assessment), test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored ...

s. Examples of these tests include entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

, such as

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

(e.g. the SAT and ACT),

business school A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...

(the GMAT),

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

(the LSAT or LNAT), medical school (the MCAT), BMAT, UKCAT and GAMSAT and

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

(the GRE) and qualifying examinations for admission to gifted education 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: Mind maps allow students to visually organize relevant concepts and information, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. *Mock exams: Mock examinations help students prepare for the real exams. They are intended to give students a clear indication of the structure and content of the actual exam and experience of examination conditions, whilst also offering them 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. * Tutors: 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. - publisher of the ACT * American Council on Education (ACE) - publisher of the GED test * Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) - publisher of the MCAT test * College Board - publisher of the SAT test * Educational Testing Service (ETS) - publisher of the GRE and TOEFL 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 (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

- publisher of the HESI exam * Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) - publisher of the GMAT * Harcourt Assessment - publisher of the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) * Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) - publisher of the LSAT test * National Restaurant Association - publisher of the ServSafe

Third parties

* Barron's Educational Series - publisher of books and educational materials * CliffsNotes - publisher of study guides * The Complete Idiot's Guides - publisher of instructional reference books * For Dummies - publisher of instructional/reference books * Gary Gruber - educator and author * McGraw-Hill - publisher of books and educational materials * Peterson's - publisher of books and educational materials * SparkNotes - publisher of study guides * Study Notes - publisher of study guides * Texas Instruments - 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, American Book Companybr>Validation Study
/ref> but others may have little effect.

References