THE TESTING PRACTICES OF MAINSTREAM SECONDARY CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Three procedures were utilized to select 60 seventh-grade and 60 tenth-grade teachers in Kansas, Florida, and Indiana to participate in a comprehensive study to identify the setting demands of mainstream secondary classrooms. As part of the study, these teachers were interviewed regarding their overall testing practices and those associated with the testing cycle (i.e., testing practices before, during, and after test administration) in four major content subject areas (English, science, social studies, and mathematics). Data indicate that special education teachers need to teach adolescents with mild handicaps effective test-taking strategies and skills to enable them to cope effectively in general education classrooms. Test-taking strategies developed at the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities as part of the Strategies Intervention Model are discussed, as are basic test-taking skills and instructional procedures for special and general educators to implement to enhance students' acquisition of content-area information often found on classroom tests.