Abstract
Students with disabilities must meet many testing demands, given the current emphasis on accountability and state competency testing. The purpose of this project was to develop and field test a computerized program to teach the Test-Taking Strategy (Hughes, Schumaker, Deshler, & Mercer, 1988) to secondary-level students with disabilities. The original instruction for the Test-Taking Strategy, validated by Hughes and Schumaker (1991), was transformed into a computerized format based on input from students, teachers, design experts, and technical consultants. A quasi-experimental design utilizing intact classes of students with learning disabilities at both the junior-high and high-school levels was employed to determine the effects of the program. Results showed the computerized program was effective in teaching students to use the Test-Taking Strategy. Statistical differences were found between the posttests of the two groups related to their knowledge of the Test-Taking Strategy, use of the strategy steps on tests, and ability to think aloud about their use of the strategy in a test-taking situation. No differences were found between gains made by junior- and senior-high students in the experimental groups. Further research is warranted to determine if this medium is effective for teaching students other types of strategies.
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