Abstract:

Test anxiety is a growing concern for many teachers, students, and parents. Teachers are often aware that students in their classes may be suffering from test anxiety, but they may feel helpless to do anything about it. Anderson examines the detrimental effects of test anxiety in students, the causes of test anxiety, and presents teachers with several methods that they can use in the classroom to reduce test anxiety in their students.

Introduction:

Test anxiety is a growing concern for many teachers, students, and parents. Test anxiety can have a detrimental effect on students achievement, learning, and self esteem. The scores of American students on national standardized tests are continually compared to scores from students in other countries. American students have typically compared poorly to students from other countries on these types of tests. As a result, pressure to improve has been placed on both students and teachers. Teachers are often aware that students in their classes may be suffering from test anxiety, but they may feel helpless to do anything about it. Teachers need to be able to recognize the signs of test anxiety and develop strategies for helping students cope with test anxiety. The purpose of this paper is to examine the detrimental effects of test anxiety in students, identify warning signs of test anxiety, and present teachers with several methods that they can use in the classroom to reduce test anxiety in their students.

According to Austin, Partridge, Bitner, and Wadlington (1995) many students of all ages suffer from a condition known as test anxiety. They defined test anxiety as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the ability to communicate what one knows in a test situation. Not only does test anxiety lead to failure to communicate what one knows in a test situation, but also to poor self esteem, and stress related physical ailments. Parents and teachers are continually disturbed by the trauma that many children experience during test taking time, particularly during standardized testing. Children may suffer from stomach aches, head aches, fear of failure, and reluctance to attend school on test days.

According to Reston, Swanson, and Howell (1996) test anxiety has been associated with lower academic performance, and self defeating behavior patterns. Test anxiety has become an area of critical concern because of its effects on performance, intelligence tests scores, achievement test scores, and classroom test scores. High levels of test anxiety contribute to the development of low motivation, poor coping skills, poor task strategies, self deprecation, proneness to cheat, proneness to make careless errors, negative self evaluation, difficulty concentrating, and the presence of off task thoughts. These authors also report that if test anxiety is left untreated, it will increase over time. Of critical concern to teachers is the building effects of test anxiety. For example, if a student does poorly on the first test of the year, the reasons for the poor performance is likely to be poor test taking and study skills. When the student has done poorly on the first test the anxiety that the student experiences during the next test is likely to be that much greater. As the level of anxiety that the student experiences increases, the likelihood of learning better strategies decreases. The anxiety experienced by the student compounds the worse they do on tests, and the worse they do on tests the more anxiety they are likely to feel. Eventually, after several tests where the student has done poorly, that student will likely give up.

Researchers have identified several causes of test anxiety. Hill (1972) attributed the fear of negative evaluation as an important cause of test anxiety. This fear of negative evaluation may in fact lead to a self fulfilling prophesy. For example, the student who is fearful of negative evaluation, may lack confidence in their ability to do well. If they expect that they will do badly, they may in fact do badly simply because they believe that they will. Wine (1971) has attributed a preoccupation with self oriented negative thoughts as a cause of test anxiety. For example, a student may feel that they are worthless, not competent, or stupid. These harsh self criticisms are likely to lead to poor self esteem and a lack of self confidence. Zatz and Chassin (1983) attributed a high number of off task thoughts as a cause of test anxiety. Students may be distracted by other things that are going on in their lives. Many students have dysfunctional home lives, may be addicted to drugs, or may have trouble maintaining good relationships with their peers. Culler and Holahan (1980) attributed poor study habits and test taking skills as a cause of test anxiety. Many students simply lack good test taking skills and good study habits because they have never learned to take tests and study in efficient and meaningful ways. Lewis and Lindner (1997) attribute an overly active sense of self awareness as a cause of test anxiety. They have found that the presence of an audience, even if it is just the teacher, induces a state of heightened self awareness. They have also found that a sense of competition will lead to a heightened sense of self awareness. They stated that inward focused attention, and a state of heightened self awareness will increase performance up to a certain level, but if the student becomes overly self aware or inwardly focused, it will lead to performance decrements.

Terry (1998) has identified several signs which indicate that a student is experiencing a high level of anxiety. These signs are included in the following list: (a) physical manifestations, including headaches, stomach aches, frequent urination, tiredness, aches and pains, and profuse sweating; (b) emotional reactions, such as crying, sensitivity, hair trigger responses, irritability, excess giggling, sudden changes of expression, and general unrest; (c) poor work habits, such as daydreaming, disorganization, cheating, sleeping, off task behavior, and lack of concentration; (d) nervous manifestations, such as nervous ticks, nail biting, excessive blinking, hair chewing, finger sucking, fidgeting, rocking motions, and chewing clothing; (e) misbehavior and aggression, such as breaking pencils, loss of temper, striking out, using bad language, quarreling, bullying, and destructiveness; (f) attention seeking, such as immature behavior, seeking approval of others, demands for attention, making up bizarre stories, continuous questioning, clinging to the teacher, acting out, and faking injuries; and (g) self destructive behaviors, such as not caring what happens, and self denigration.

According to Frank (1996) people have a sense of personal competence which affects their behavior in many ways. This sense of personal competence influences the choices that individuals make and the courses of action they choose to pursue. People typically engage in tasks in which they feel they are competent and confident in. They will typically avoid those tasks in which they feel they are not competent and confident in. many students have a long history of poor performance on tests. This may be due in part to their initial lack of achievement on tests early in their school career. After a student has done poorly on tests for a long period of time, they may simply feel that they are not very good at taking tests. As a result they are likely to avoid taking, or spending time studying for tests. These feelings of competency and confidence also help determine how much effort they will expend on an activity, how long they will persevere when confronted with obstacles, and how resilient they will be in the face of adverse situations. These feelings of competency and confidence will influence an individuals thought patterns and emotional reactions. People with who do not feel competent and confident may believe that things are tougher than they really are. This belief fosters stress, depression, and a narrow vision of how to solve a problem. Those who feel competent and confident however, are more likely to feel calm and in control when approaching difficult tasks and activities.

It is important for teachers to be aware of test anxiety in their students, but they also need to be aware of ways in which they as the teacher can help their students to overcome test anxiety. Austin, Partridge, Bitner, and Wadlington (1995) present a method that teachers can use to help students deal with test anxiety. This method, called systematic desensitization, involves deep muscle relaxation while imagining oneself in a stressful situation. Teaching this technique takes about 30 minutes per session for several sessions. Once the students become familiar with the relaxation response, the teacher can use a simple cue to relax at the beginning of each testing period. The second part of this technique takes a little more time and may not be useful to younger students who may not be capable of identifying specific causes of their stress. When the teacher first introduces the deep muscle relaxation to their students, they should go through the following steps:

1. Explain the purpose of the exercises to the students. The teacher should explain to the students that they are going to do some exercises that will help them to relax. The teacher should also tell the students that this relaxation will help them to feel better and to be able to concentrate better on the test. The teacher should then inform them that they will tense and relax different muscle groups in their body. They should inform them that they will do this every day until they are able to relax very quickly.

2. Create a pleasant atmosphere for the students during the process. The teacher should tell the students to get comfortable in their seats, or perhaps to lay on the floor with their arms along their sides, palms down, and legs outstretched. The teacher should also make the room as quiet as possible. The teacher will then use an audio tape of calming sounds such as ocean waves, a rainy day, or blowing wind.

3. The teacher should also model the exercises. They should ask their students to watch as the teacher clenches one fist, relaxes the hand, and opens the fingers of the hand. The teacher should then repeat this with the other hand. The teacher will then flex their wrists, bend their arms, and then relax. As the teacher models this, they should explain to the students that this will make them feel tense and then relaxed.

4. The teacher should then begin the deep muscle relaxation program. The teachers should give the following directions: (a) think about your arms, (b) clench your fists, (c) clench your fists tightly and feel the tension in your hand and forearm, (d) concentrate on the tenseness, (e) let the tension go, (f) relax on your hands as they rest on the floor, and (g) notice the difference between your arms when they are tensed and when they are relaxed.

The students should then continue tensing and relaxing the rest of the muscle groups in the following order: (a) bend the wrists and tighten the muscles in the back of the hands, (b) clench both hands into fists and bring them towards the shoulders to tighten the biceps, (c) shrug the shoulders to the ears, (d) wrinkle the forehead, (e) squeeze the eyes tightly, (f) push the tongue against the roof of the mouth, (g) clench the jaws, (h) squeeze the lips together, (i) push the head into the floor or the back of the chair, (j) press the chin into the chest, (k) arch the back filling the lungs with air, (l) tighten the stomach muscles, (m) tighten the buttocks, (n) stretch the legs until tense, and (o) point toes towards the head and tighten the calves.

The teacher should guide the students through each muscle group twice, having the students tense and relax each as they go. The teacher should then name each muscle group and tell the students to get rid of any tension that they have left. After the students have gotten used to going through the above steps, the teachers can shorten the process by combining several muscle groups at one time. Eventually the students will be able to relax their muscle groups on command or at the sound of soothing music.

Austin, Partridge, Bitner, and Wadlington (1995) also present a more complex strategy for dealing with test anxiety in older children. Once the teacher has taught the students deep muscle relaxation they can proceed with the following steps:

1. The teacher should explain the purpose of the technique. They should explain to the students that they can reduce test anxiety by using the relaxation techniques along with their imagination. The teacher should explain that they are going to use the relaxation methods that they have already learned to replace the tension and anxiety they get when they think of testing. The teacher may tell them that this is called systematic desensitization. The teacher may explain that it is impossible to be relaxed and afraid at the same time. To begin the teacher should have them make a list of the situations that make them feel anxious. The teacher should tell them that while they are practicing the relaxation skills, they should imagine themselves in these situations and continue to make themselves relax. The teacher should tell them that eventually they will be able to relax even when they are in the real life situation.

2. The teacher should then identify test related concerns in the students. The teacher may do this by asking them what kinds of things they feel nervous about when they take tests.

3. The teacher should then construct a list of the concerns which cause students to feel anxiety. The teacher should then assist the students in ranking those concerns from highest to lowest according to the degree of anxiety which they produce. Some possible examples of these concerns are provided in the following list: (a) pressure from parents, (b) competition, (c) failure to understand, (d) finishing on time, (e) not knowing the material, and (f) fear of retention.

4. The teacher should then assess the students imagery. It is important for the teacher to understand that before students can benefit from desensitization, they must be able to imagine themselves vividly in a pleasant situation. The teacher may need to spend some time practicing imagery with the students. The teacher should allow them to visualize pleasant situations in which they are participating such as: (a) lying under a tree on a pleasant afternoon, (b) winning a team game, or (c) sliding down a water slide. The teacher should ask them to describe all the details of the situation that they imagined including sight, sound, touch, and smell. The teacher should do this both when the students have been requested to relax and when they have not. The teacher should observe the students ability to switch the scene on and off, and their ability to keep the scene in their mind without thinking of something else. Once the students become adept at imagining those situations, the teacher should ask them to think of a special place or image which is uniquely pleasant to them. The teacher should tell the students that this is their safe place and they will return to it during the desensitization process.

5. The teacher should then take the students through the relaxation process. The teacher should have the students imagine themselves in their special safe place. The teacher should then tell them that they are going to present them with an anxiety producing situation, but that they should maintain their relaxed state. The teacher should then present them with the least anxiety provoking situation taken from the list of concerns that the students produced earlier. The teacher should tell the students to imagine themselves in this situation. The students should continue to imagine themselves in the situation for approximately 25 seconds. The teacher should then tell them to erase the scene from their minds. The teacher should then wait for 30 seconds and then present the same scene again for 35 seconds. The teacher should then tell them to erase the scene again. The teacher should then wait 30 seconds and then present the same scene again for 40 seconds. The teacher should then move on to the next highest anxiety provoking scene taken from the list that they produced earlier. The teacher should inform the students that if they feel anxious at any time they should signal by raising their hands. If a student raises their hand the teacher should tell them to erase the scene, become completely relaxed, and imagine they are in their safe place for 30 seconds. The teacher should then start again with the same scene until the student is able to progress through it for at least 40 seconds with no anxiety. The teacher should then continue this process until they have progressed through all of the items from the list that was created earlier. This may take place over several sessions, but each session should begin with the last item completed in the last session.

6. The teacher should inform the students that for the relaxation techniques to be effective, they must practice them at home. Students can use audio tapes, or have parents help them when at home. Students should also be encouraged to use the new skills that they have learned in other situations.

Teacher's may question whether these techniques really work in the classroom. Rasid and Parish (1998) found that students who received this type of training demonstrated significantly lower anxiety scores than those students who did not receive this type of training. Teachers who are interested in this type of training may refer to Cautela and Groden (1978) for a complete book on the subject.

Steele and Arth (1998) present several alternative assessment methods which teachers can use in order to reduce test anxiety among students. They propose that anxiety may be lowered by using mastery learning techniques, oral questioning, student demonstration, and informal evaluation techniques to assess student learning.

Conclusion :

Test anxiety can be very detrimental to students. It can lower their self concepts, decrease learning, and have detrimental effects on health. Teachers should look for the following warning signs of test anxiety in their students: (a) physical manifestations, (b) emotional reactions, (c) poor work habits, (d) nervous manifestations, (e) misbehavior and aggression, (f) attention seeking, and (g) self destructive behaviors. Once teachers have identified students who suffer from test anxiety, they may proceed to help those students to overcome test anxiety by using deep muscle relaxation and systematic desensitization techniques. They may also consider using alternative forms of testing such as mastery learning techniques, oral questioning, student demonstration, and informal evaluation techniques to assess student learning.

References:

Austin, J.S. (1995). Prevent school failure: Treat test anxiety. Preventing School Failure, 40 (1), 10-14.

Cautela, J., & Grodin, J. (1978). Relaxation: A comprehensive manual for adults, children, and children with special needs. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Culler, R.E., & Holahan, C.J. (1980). Test anxiety and academic performance: The effects of study related behaviors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 72 (1), 16-20.

Hill, K.T. (1972). Anxiety in the evaluative context. The Young Child, 2 (1), 77-88.

Lewis, B.P. (1997). Thinking about choking? Attentional processes and paradoxical performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23 (9), 937-944.

Pajares, F. (1996). Self efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research, 66 (4), 543-578.

Rasid, Z.F. (1998). The effects of two types of relaxation training on students' levels of anxiety. Adolescence, 33 (129), 99-101.

Steele, D.F., & Arth, A.A. (1998). Lowering anxiety in the math curriculum. The Education Digest, 63 (7), 18-23.

Terry, P.M. (1998). Do schools make students fearful and phobic? Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 4 (2), 193-211.

Swanson, S., & Howell, C. (1996). Test anxiety in adolescents with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. Exceptional Children, 62 (5), 389-393.

Wine, J.D. (1971). Test anxiety and direction of attention. Psychological Bulletin, 76 (1), 92-104.

Zatz, S., & Chassin, L. (1983). Cognitions of test anxious children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51 (4), 526-534.

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