A lack of cohesion in the approaches used to study test taking strategies and to practically apply knowledge obtained through academic research is also cited as problematic (Cohen, 2006). Without an appropriate way to measure and assess test taking strategies and their impact on test validity, more valid language testing methodologies cannot be developed. Internal measures of construct validity have grown more sophisticated as a means of addressing both test taking strategy concerns and other potential issues when it comes to language test validity, but these have been far from entirely successful in making assurances against the erosion of test validity in the face of test taking strategy implementation (Goh & Aryadoust, 2010; Lee, 2011). Test taking strategies such as clue-word orientation, multiple choice elimination strategies, and a variety of other test taking strategies that are not involved with assuring proper knowledge representation but rather with "fooling" or "gaming" the test itself are all but impossible to control for (Lee, 2011; Mohamaddi & Abidin, 2012). Elements of test design, from the test type to the length of the test to the arrangement of specific items and the wording of specific questions, are the only ways to create greater validity, and there is no design...

Instead, ongoing efforts in test design and in educational design -- from instruction to testing patterns -- buts continue to be researched and adapted/adjusted as deemed necessary in order to attain the highest possible level of validity. Continuing to shift all of these elements in response to changing strategies will ensure long-term validity.
References

Amer, a. (2007). EFL/ESL Test-Wiseness and Test-Taking Strategies. Sultan Qaboos University [dissertation].

Cheng, L. (2008). The key to success: English language testing in China. Language Testing 25(1): 15-37.

Cohen, a. (2006). The Coming of Age of Research on Test-Taking Strategies. Language Assessment Quarterly 3(4): 307-31.

Goh, C. & Aryadoust, S. (2010). Investigating the Construct Validity of the MELAB Listening Test through the Rasch Analysis and Correlated Uniqueness Modeling. Spaan Fellow Working Papers in Second or Foreign Language Assessment 8: 31-68.

Lee, J. (2011). Second language reading topic familiarity and test score: test-taking strategies for multiple-choice comprehension questions. University of Iowa [dissertation].

Mohmmadi, M. & Abidin, M. (2012). Test-taking Strategies,…