It would seem that our concern is on the product, that is, that all students operate at mastery level. How do we prepare our students to achieve that mastery? We should focus not only on the product but also on the process that learners go through to achieve excellence. My experience is that many students do not master the test because they are unaware of what they are required to do and how to do it. Students must be explicitly taken through the process of, for example,  analysing a question, with the teacher/ parent/facilitator asking the relevant questions and providing the apppropriate cues to help the learners understand what is required of them. For example, help the learners to read the instructions, underline pertinent words and explain what they are required to do. Teach them to self question (Am I addressing the issues? Did I inclue examples,if that was asked of him, have I used the information provided? if that was required) In essence teach them to review/critique their work in light of what they required to do. (Perhaps a checklist would be useful) When they have grasped this kind of process they can transfer it to other learning/ testing situations. Our objective should be to make our students strategic learners by equipping them with the best instructional strategies and metacognitive processes that they can apply when they are required to work independently or otherwise. Maureen