Can tests be practised?
There are competing arguments about whether practice affects performance on ability or aptitude tests. For tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which is used to predict college performance in America, test preparation or coaching is a big industry and many claims are made by coaching companies for the efficacy of their services. The true claims for practice can be better understood if we look at two separate components that go to make up test performance. The first of these, and the one which test users are really interested in measuring, is a persons true ability in the area being measured. This ability is likely to remain fairly static, although may fluctuate slightly with experience. For example, ability with numbers may increase if a person has to do a lot of number work and this, in turn, may be reflected in their score on a numerical reasoning test. Conversely, not using numbers for some time is likely to make a person far slower when completing the same numerical
