Taking tests should be easy and simple. We shouldn’t worry about taking tests, but most of us do. It’s called “test anxiety” (see this link also) or “test phobia.” The medical term for this is “Social Anxiety Disorder” (SAD). I like using the three letters SAD to represent this, because it is sad when test [...]

Elf mistress Heloise entered Elvin’s office (Head of Section K) quickly. “For the eighth week in a row, the reject rate from Section K is three times the rate from the previous twelve months,” she said, handing the weekly quality report to Elvin. She continued, “I was so impressed when your section scored higher on [...]

The lazy elf pouted and made a grimace as he sanded wooden toy blocks. As the master elf passed by, he asked, “What’s wrong?” “Master, I want to work on mechanical dolls, not wooden blocks,” the lazy elf replied. The master elf stroked his beard and nodded his head. As he peered piercingly at the [...]

Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota and Jonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia have created a series of experiments involving cheating on tests as an attempt to associate behavior (specifically cheating behavior) with moral beliefs and free will. In essence, they ask the question, ” ‘If people came to believe that their [...]

It’s easy to understand the pressure that you, the test taker, face when you take a high stakes test. It’s also easy to see why you might want to discuss the test with others. As an example, consider one student’s request for help on the DAT (Dental Admissions Test), posted on August 16, 2007: “For [...]