A standardized test measures some combination of ① the intended subject-matter skills and knowledge, and ② skills and knowledge that are specific to manipulating the test, also known as “test-taking skills”. We know this because we can teach test-taking skills; which is to say, we can improve a student’s performance on a standardized subject test by teaching them something that is not that subject.
A perfect standardized test would measure only ① with no influence from ②. If the subject is biology, then a perfect test would be one where the only way to get a better score would be to actually get better at biology, not at test-taking.
A standardized test measures some combination of ① the intended subject-matter skills and knowledge, and ② skills and knowledge that are specific to manipulating the test, also known as “test-taking skills”. We know this because we can teach test-taking skills; which is to say, we can improve a student’s performance on a standardized subject test by teaching them something that is not that subject.
A perfect standardized test would measure only ① with no influence from ②. If the subject is biology, then a perfect test would be one where the only way to get a better score would be to actually get better at biology, not at test-taking.