Test-Taking Skills of High School Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

This study assessed the test-taking skills of 776 high school students, 35 of whom were diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD). Students completed a computerized battery of timed reading tests as well as scales that assess test anxiety and test-taking perceptions. Students with LD obtained lower scores than the nondisabled group on all of the reading tasks (speed, comprehension, vocabulary, and decoding), spent more time reviewing comprehension questions, and were less active in looking for answers in the passages. Both groups favored the same comprehension strategy of reading the entire passage and then answering questions. The groups did not differ in their levels of test anxiety or confidence in taking tests under timed conditions. Vocabulary score best discriminated between groups and best predicted reading comprehension performance, suggesting a potential target for intervention.