Effective Test-Taking Strategies on English Tests: Implications from Taiwanese Students.

The growing body of research into the effect of test-taking strategies on the testing process, as well as research regarding the relationship between test-taker characteristics and test performance, continues to grow. Only limited research, however, has attempted to define more precisely the relationships between all of these data sources. This paper, utilizing as subjects 523 two-year college freshmen from Taiwan, explores the relationships among test-taker characteristics, test-taking strategies, and test performance. Test-taking strategies applied by Anderson et al. (1991) are adapted as an instrument for the study. In addition, Yien’s (1999) findings concerning the relationships between the characteristics of test-takers and test performance also serve as reference points. The results of the current study indicate that significant relationships among test-taker characteristics, test-taking strategies, and test performance exist. It is suggested that test-taking strategies play a role in mediating between test-taker characteristics and test performance. Thus, the overall findings of the study suggest that, if classroom teachers were able to determine what their students are really doing while taking tests and were to apply those test-taking strategies that genuinely help the performance of their students, then they would be able to design their class activities more carefully and successfully.