{"id":1797,"date":"2016-09-19T14:17:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T14:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-collegesuccess\/?post_type=chapter&p=1797"},"modified":"2017-03-16T19:51:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-16T19:51:39","slug":"text-test-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-buffalo-wmopen-collegesuccess\/chapter\/text-test-anxiety\/","title":{"raw":"Text: Test Anxiety","rendered":"Text: Test Anxiety"},"content":{"raw":"There are few words more familiar in academia than the word test<\/em>. From early childhood until perhaps our advanced years, we engage with tests in countless ways\u2014formally and informally, with anticipation and nerves. In this section we take a look at tests and exams more closely and try to demystify them.\r\n\r\nTests or \u201cexaminations\u201d are assessments designed to gauge your\u00a0knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors, \u00a0and aptitudes. Below\u00a0is a short list of some of the many tests you have likely taken:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Spelling tests<\/td>\r\nReading tests<\/td>\r\nMath tests<\/td>\r\nLanguage tests<\/td>\r\nLaboratory tests<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Typing tests<\/td>\r\nPhysical fitness tests<\/td>\r\nDriving tests<\/td>\r\nIntelligence tests<\/td>\r\nPersonality tests<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\"Self\" tests<\/td>\r\nStandardized tests<\/td>\r\nPlacement tests<\/td>\r\nAchievement tests<\/td>\r\nCollege entrance tests!<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nJust imagine how many tests have you taken in your lifetime:\r\n
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  • In total, you may have taken an average of 113 standardized tests between pre-K and twelfth\u00a0grade, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, which studied students in large urban districts.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • In the 2014\u201315 school year, 401 unique tests were administered across subjects in the 66 large urban school systems that the council studied.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nYou may feel as though you've already taken enough tests for a lifetime! But, for better or for worse, testing seems to be a fact of life, and it's certainly a recurring\u00a0feature of the college experience. So you'll be in the best position for success if you can learn to take tests in stride and develop good test-taking skills.\r\n\r\nAs you'll discover, a big part of doing well on tests is knowing what to expect and gearing up psychologically\u2014that is, learning how to deal with test anxiety.\r\n

    What Is Test Anxiety?<\/h2>\r\n
    My fears are like thundering elephants. Then when I get them out and really look at them, I see that they are actually mice with megaphones.\r\n

    \u2014Bruce Rahtje, author and Biblical scholar<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nFor many test takers, preparing for a test and taking a test can easily cause\u00a0worry and anxiety. In fact, most students report that they are more stressed by tests and schoolwork than by anything else in their lives, according to the American Test Anxiety Association.[footnote]\"Text Anxiety.\" American Test Anxieties Association<\/i>. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.[\/footnote]\r\n

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    • Roughly 16\u201320 percent of students have high test anxiety.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Another 18 percent have moderately high test anxiety.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Test anxiety is the most common\u00a0academic impairment in grade school, high school, and college.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nTest anxiety is \u201cthe set of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral responses that accompany concern about possible negative consequences or failure on an exam or similar evaluative situation.\u201d (Zeidner, 1998) Put another way, test anxiety is a combination of overarousal, tension, worry, dread, fear of failure, and \"catastrophizing\" before or during test situations.\r\n\r\nBelow are some effects of moderate\u00a0anxiety:[footnote]\"Test Anxiety.\" Test Anxiety<\/i>. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
      Being distracted during a test<\/td>\r\nCrying<\/td>\r\nActing out<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      Having trouble organizing or recalling relevant information<\/td>\r\nIllness<\/td>\r\nToileting accidents<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      Having difficulty comprehending relatively simple instructions<\/td>\r\nEating disturbance<\/td>\r\nSleep disturbance<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      Negative attitudes towards self, school, subjects<\/td>\r\nHigh blood pressure<\/td>\r\nCheating<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nBelow are some effects of extreme test anxiety:[footnote]\"Test Anxiety.\" Test Anxiety<\/i>. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.[\/footnote]\r\n
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      • Overanxious disorder<\/li>\r\n \t
      • Social phobia<\/li>\r\n \t
      • Suicide<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nPoor test performance is also a significant outcome\u00a0of test anxiety. Test-anxious students tend to have lower study skills and lower test-taking skills, but research also\u00a0suggests that high levels of emotional distress correlate with reduced academic performance overall. Highly test-anxious students score about 12 percentile points below their low-anxiety peers. Students with test anxiety also have higher overall dropout rates. And test anxiety can negatively affect a student's social, emotional, and behavioral development, as well feelings about themselves and school.\r\n\r\nWhy does test anxiety occur? Inferior performance arises not because of intellectual problems or poor academic preparation. It occurs because testing situations create a sense of threat for those who experience test anxiety. The sense of threat then disrupts the learner\u2019s attention and memory.\r\n\r\nOther factors can influence test anxiety, too. Students with disabilities and students in gifted education classes tend to experience high rates of test anxiety.\r\n\r\nIf you experience test anxiety, have hope! Experiencing\u00a0test anxiety doesn't\u00a0mean that there's something wrong with you or that you aren't capable of performing well in college. In fact, some stress\u2014a manageable amount of stress\u2014can actually be motivating. The trick\u00a0is to keep stress and anxiety at a level where it can help you do\u00a0your best rather than get in your way.\r\n

        Strategies\u00a0for Preventing and Controlling Test Anxiety<\/h2>\r\nThe following video, from the University of British Columbia, provides strategies for coping with any stress and anxiety you may have about an upcoming test or exam. It also provides strategies, such as the following, for acing an exam:\r\n
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        1. Ask about the exam (materials covered, format, points, level of detail, etc.)<\/li>\r\n \t
        2. Take inventory of your notes<\/li>\r\n \t
        3. Set a study schedule<\/li>\r\n \t
        4. Keep your diet consistent<\/li>\r\n \t
        5. Don't stop exercising<\/li>\r\n \t
        6. Get regular sleep<\/li>\r\n \t
        7. Make a five-day study plan for each exam<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n