Abstract: A computerized test preparation system and methods are disclosed which assist an examinee to increase his learning and improve his performance on standardized academic or applied aptitude and achievement exams. Performance feedback information is provided to a user, including conventional information such as number of items correct and time elapsed, pinpoints substantive areas of a particular exam in which the user is either weak or strong, and offers diagnoses of, and remediation tailored to, a user's personal difficulties. By assessing a user's responses to given exam questions, through various distractor error patterns manifested in the incorrect answers to multiple-choice questions, or through coded categories of responses in the case of user responses to constrained open-ended items, a preliminary diagnosis of a user's deficits in knowledge and/or test taking skill is made. This preliminary diagnosis is subsequently refined utilizing additional examination questions.