In Texas, the name Dr. Shirley Crook immediately connotes "testing guru." She spends much of her time teaching administrators, teachers, and students to analyze, understand, and defeat the varied array of testing instruments they face. Her interests, experience, and activities, however, are much broader. She is a long-time developer of curricula and instructional programs, especially those designed for special populations. Equally varied are her many seminars and programs for both professional and avocational adult writers, editors, and communicators.

After two years at Northwestern University, Dr. Crook received her B.A. in Speech/Drama from Southern Methodist University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English from The University of Texas in Austin. Her most extended teaching experience was on the faculty of the English Department of UT Austin, where she also developed and implemented programs for continuing education and outreach. She began her professional life as a public school teacher and over her career has worked with students from kindergarten through graduate school.

Dr. Crook has designed, developed, written, and edited course materials for the regular school/university classroom, correspondence study, teleconference, video productions, and professional seminars. Her research in testing and assessment, curriculum design, and instructional planning has also produced specialized programs for alternative schools, summer programs, and tutorials. Among her productions are:

• the Talk Through series of assisted independent learning;
• the Making Instructional Sense out of Reading Comprehension videotape series;
• the Making Instructional Sense out of Test Scores videotape series;
• the Effective Test Performance Study Guide;
• the Mastering the TAAS series;
• the Mastering the TEAMS series;
• the Skill-Building Series independent-learning curriculum for migrant students;
• the independent-learning Study Guide for Black Literature;
• the TECAT Review Course and Study Guide;
• the TECAT Review videotapes'
• the EXCET videotape series and workbook
• the Learning by Listening audiotapes;
• the What Works series for parents.

In the area of educational staff development, Dr. Crook has served hundreds of school districts, colleges, educational centers, and associations in Texas and the nation. Her name has become synonymous with effective test preparation, and her terms like "bubble student" and "mastery minus" have become part of standard instructional vocabulary.

In the area of professional training, Dr. Crook has developed adult seminars and training programs in such areas as professional writing, technical writing, creative writing, editing, and her acclaimed "defensive grammar" course. She has worked widely as an editor and as a judge/evaluator of media and publications. Her speeches, presentations, and training programs have proved popular at conferences and with professional associations, corporations, businesses, and state agencies.

Dr. Crook is a long-time resident of Austin, Texas, where she and her husband, a retired attorney, reared four daughters.