To help answer this question, intensive phone interviews were conducted with over 90 Iowa teachers during the spring of 2006. Based on these interviews, it’s clear that the vast majority of teachers believe that at least some type of test preparation is necessary in order for test scores to be a true reflection of student learning.

Furthermore, the justifications provided by teachers for using particular types of test-preparation activities were nearly always based on good intentions, as can be seen by the sample of justifications provided below.

But, are good intentions enough to justify the use of a particular activity? Of course not. As educators (and possibly as parents), many of us have first-hand experience with considering the consequences of the actions of children, as well as the actions of others, and are fully aware that having good intentions is rarely sufficient to justify an action.

To clarify this point in the context of test preparation, consider the types of actions that might occur in response to an educator’s “good intentions,” as illustrated in the table below. What if the good intention listed on the left leads to the action listed on the right?

Good Intention	Action
... do really well on the test(s) and score as high as they can	giving students more time to take the test than what is stated in the Directions
... know how to answer multiple-choice questions	using multiple-choice questions almost exclusively on classroom assessments
... remember what I taught them earlier in the year	spending two weeks right before the test reviewing and practicing content known to be on the test
... have had the opportunity to learn the content and skills covered by the test	conducting a mini lesson right before the test to cover a particular content area on the test that’s taught later in the year
... have the same advantages as those students in Mr. Whosit’s class”	using the same materials as those used by Mr. Whosit to “prepare” students
... feel comfortable and not anxious when taking the test	using commercially-prepared practice tests the week before the test is administered
... can understand what the questions are about, especially special education students and ELLs	reviewing the test questions in advance with these students to help them understand what the questions are asking
... are familiar with the terminology or vocabulary used on the test	using last year’s test to practice with the students
... are testwise and know the “tricks” when taking a multiple-choice test	teaching test-taking skills for two days right before the test
... receive scores that represent their true knowledge and not just their ability to read the question	reading out loud the questions on the Reading Comprehension test