The Dangers of Test Preparation: What Students Learn (and Don't Learn) About Reading Comprehension From Test‐Centric Literacy Instruction

The authors offer guidance on recognizing and resisting test‐centric instruction in reading comprehension. They posit that five practices indicate a test‐centric view of comprehension: when the tested content is privileged, when the test becomes the text, when annotation requirements replace strategic thinking, when test items frame how students think, and when item‐level data are overinterpreted. The authors express concern that test‐centric literacy instruction has started to replace research‐based instructional practices more and more. Using a sociocultural lens, the authors describe what young readers are likely to learn (and not learn) about reading comprehension when they are immersed in this form of instruction. The article provides talking points that teachers can use to bolster their efforts to resist test preparation pressures that they may experience in their schools.