Test Anxiety and Student Performance
Abstract
Test anxiety is a real and measureable problem student’s face regardless of their grade or level of academic achievement. Test anxiety can also adversely affect how students participate in and view the learning process long term. This study was designed to examine the effects of test anxiety on high school students specifically, and how the stress associated with the processes or outcomes of standardized testing can negatively impact their performance. There is also a theory that contributing factors of test anxiety can also impact social anxiety. The purpose of this study is to determine if students with determined higher levels of test anxiety perform lower overall on standardized
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They tend to engage in distracting and negative thoughts about themselves, which prevent them from concentrating on their tasks (Zatz & Chassin, 1985). As a result, these students have difficulties learning and excelling on standardized tests. However, it is important to highlight the fact that any students, regardless of their level of intelligence or academic performance, can be adversely affected by test anxiety (Clovis, 1999). Most significantly, Clovis (1999) pointed out that these inappropriate strategies can trigger further increases in test anxiety and create a cycle of academic failure. Preliminary Literature Review
To address this phenomenon, researchers have proposed different theories of test anxiety to account for the effects of test anxiety on the deficits of academic performance. According to scholars such as Schmidt and Riniolo (1999), the cognitive aspects of test anxiety - worry and task-relevant thinking - are also present in social anxiety. Therefore, students who experience test anxiety may also suffer from other types of psychological and cognitive problems such as self-esteem, cognitive development, social skills and memory. Essentially, the students who suffer from test anxiety are individuals who are unable to cope with any types of stress. Considering the stressful nature of
Pressure to succeed at these tests creates feelings of anxiousness and stress in students that can cause students to dread coming to school at all. Students should be able to enjoy coming to school and learning. Pressure from standardized tests does not allow students to further their education in a stress-free environment. This can be detrimental to the quality of education. Dawn Laborde is a mother of three school-aged children from Florida. She said, “My third grader loves school, but I can’t get her out of the car this year.” (“States Listen as Parents Give Rampant Testing an F”) This demonstrates how even children as young as eight or nine years old can feel the pressures given by standardized testing. It is worrying that young children and teenagers are spending so much of their time in school agonizing over standardized tests and other concerns that accompany them. The pressure to succeed at these tests can also cause students to feel physically ill. Education researcher Gregory J. Cizek states, “...illustrating how testing...produces crippling anxiety in even the brightest students and makes young children vomit, or cry, or both.” (“Is The Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?”) The fact that students are brought to tears or made physically sick due to stress from testing is very disturbing. Schools should be relaxed environments where students can freely learn and grow
In every school and in every grade, there are students struggling with test anxiety. Majority of schools require their students to pass a certain number of standardized tests to pass that grade or a certain amount before they can graduate high school. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to administer state assessments (“Opt Out Info”). Test anxiety is a problem in all schools, and needs to be taken in consideration, by decreasing the pressure on students, especially those who suffer from test anxiety. But how can we do that, and what can parents and teachers do to help?
School Standards and Testing Everyday, schools all over America are pushing students to the brink of insanity. They are giving many quizzes and tests, along with anxiety and sleep deprivation. Teachers have very high expectations, leaving students to worry about keeping their grades up. Meanwhile, students have to juggle with five to seven different classes, learning new material for each class, keeping up with sports and other after-school activities, studying each night for tests, etc.
Test anxiety is a fairly common phenomenon in educational culture today. Research has been completed on different facets of anxiety from developing learned behavior through primary education structure to an increase in somaticized symptoms in the college setting. Many research articles discussed quantitative results and few I found truly focused on the qualitative thoughts and emotions of the students effected the most. My proposal aims to investigate the thoughts, emotions, and future behaviors of those suffering from the anxiety that plagues college students daily, especially during finals and other high-stakes testing.
Test anxiety is defined as "A fear of failing that you feel before or while taking an important examination, that prevents you from performing as well as you otherwise could on the exam," according to yourdictionary.com. The website mentalhelathy.com, a survey conducted by ChildLine states that 96% of the students surveyed felt anxious or pressured, skipped meals, had problems sleeping , and 14% even drank alcohol because of standardized testing. This is in no way healthy for students. This stress can cause students to perfom poorly on a tes that they know the material for. If students experience test anxiety on a test that determines whether they graduate or move on to the next grade, then the chances of them passing are significantly
Furthermore, the strain from all of these standardized tests takes a physical and mental toll on students as well (NPR). I know from personal experience that all of the pressure from these tests can leave you feeling like you cannot escape, or like you are barely gasping for air. It’s like you cannot find a way out of this never-ending rut that seems to be getting deeper and deeper as you get older. And occasionally, with all of this chaos, it’s hard to focus on what truly matters. Students can get lost, and lose sight of what’s most important while trying to balance schoolwork, quizzes, and the additional STAAR test.
On the other hand, OCadiz (2013) argues that standardize testing negative effect on instructional decision making in the classroom. He suggests that “the content of standardized test is not usually in tandem with typical classroom instruction and behavior because it must be generalized” (OCadiz, 2013, para. 7). Teachers have been known to modify their teaching practices and their classroom instruction to prepare students adequately for tests. Standardize assessments are known to reduce group activities among students. The disadvantage of standardize testing is that some students simply do not perform well on tests because of test anxiety. Test anxiety hinders student’s performance and has a negative impact on children’s social, emotional, and academic well-being students are intelligent and understand the curriculum, but it does not show
Stress and Test Anxiety in Schools: Are Test Scores Really the Most Important Factor in Education?
Anxiety is a very common disorder when it comes to students in school. There are various types of anxiety, one common example is test taking anxiety. Test taking anxiety is a nervous feeling that students have while taking a test, and sometimes before or after taking the exam. This makes it impossible for students to do their best and to show their knowledge. When students are under stress it causes them to have physical symptoms, such as sweating or rapid breathing. Students who aren't prepared for tests, but care about doing well are also likely to have test anxiety before taking any type of test. Supporters argue standardized tests effectively measure student achievement, and opponents argue that tests are good for measuring students’ performances.
Tet anxiety is a very common thing among American students, especially for those whore are in higher education. This type of anxiety causes psychological tension that students experience before taking test. In the moment of test anxiety students have a strong feelings of failure that is followed by panic and stress pressure. Apparently many studies have showed that test anxiety often causes students to perform worse on the exam. "Test anxiety: Why it is increasing and 3 ways to curb it" by Valerie Strauss and " Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and College Exam Grades" by Jennifer Barrows, Samantha Dunn, Carrie A. Lloyd are popular and scholarly articles that discuss test anxiety in US higher education and how it disadvantages students.
Taking tests in the academic environment has been the mainstay for evaluating student’s comprehension and mastery of concepts learned. Although this can reflect an accurate depiction of their retained knowledge, many factors may affect the recollection of tested material. Students of all ages can experience a certain level of stress when entering the testing environment, which may have a negative impact on their ability to recall information. This stress may reflect an inaccuracy of what they recalled. Countless factors have been shown to impact test taking ability including environmental noise or lack thereof, anxiety, and self-confidence. These factors affect the students’ ability to concentrate and recall learned information leading to
The purpose of this research is to examine perceptions of student test anxiety in elementary school.
Test anxiety is a very common trait that occurs in many people. You have spent weeks studying for the examination, covered every single topic and read every single material having to deal with the upcoming exam. You walk into the classroom, sit down, and retrieve all your materials that you need. The instructor hands out your exam and gives everyone the confirmation to begin. You open up the exam and start reading the first question, hoping to be familiar with the subject. As you read question after question, you realize that you can't recall the answers to anything that you have just read. According to Salend (2011), this is the time that "you start to panic, your chest gets tight, you get sweaty, you start feeling overwhelmed" (p. 58). Many students suffer from this type of anxiety when it comes to taking examinations that can hinder their performance and well being. Proper studying and adequate preparation can help students overcome test anxiety and help improve their performance. Employing
My test anxiety is strong. In certain situations, I feel like I cannot think, like my mind goes blank. The concept of taking a test is more challenging than actually taking the test. My test anxiety causes me to feel like I'm going to fail and that there is no chance that I will get a good grade no matter how hard I try. I tend to feel it the most when I meet big tests such as the SAT and AP exams. At times, some of the material that I’ve learned sticks and I could focus on that, however, most of time I forget what I learned and studied and it all goes blank. I also feel the butterflies in my stomach, my body beginning to shake, and worst of all, I feel like throwing up. Test anxiety caused me to doubt myself in general. To make matters worse, my school at times categorize tests as a big part of your grade and sometimes with that, my grades tend to drop. This has affected me as a student since it causes me to always doubt myself and have poor thoughts to what will happen and I envision bad
Social Anxiety causes poor academic performance and high levels of academic anxiety can negatively affect working memory (Owens, Stevenson, Hadwin, & Norgate, 2012). This disables the student to pay attention to the lesson properly. Students with this disorder have weaker student teacher relationship, and therefore can cause conflicts, and less of a desire for a teacher to help that student. (Volbrechet 2010).