Test Anxiety and Student Performance

In recent years, with the passage of legislations such as the No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing has become an integral part of student learning from elementary schonl to high school levels. Due to the increase in testing, it is vital for educators, especially classroom teachers who are responsible for preparing the students for these tests, to be aware of the impact of test anxiety of student performance (Supon, 2004).

Over the last several decades, researchers have highlighted the adverse impact of test anxiety on student performance, regardless of the students' grade levels or previous academic achievement (Anastasi, 1976; Sarason, Davidson, Lighthall, Waite, & Ruebush, 1960; McDonald, 2001). For instance, Hembree's (1988) meta-analysis of 562 studies addressing the relationship between test anxiety and student performance have indicated that test anxiety is a key factor in undermining student performance.

In the case of some students, particularly elementary school students, test anxiety can lead to the students' completing their tests rapidly simply to "escape the unpleasant physical experiences" (Cheek, Bradley, Reynolds and Coy, 2002, p. 162). What is highly disturbing is that as testing becomes increasingly frequently and common in the lives of test-anxious students, their experiences of "flight or fight" responses can exert long-term effects, which will lead to a tr

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er, this model may not explain why students who are not deficient in subject-related skills under-perform on standardized examinations. This research study will further consider the correlations among students' test anxiety, their study habits and their performance. Purpose of the Investigation The purpose of the investigation is to examine the extent to which junior high school students experience test anxiety. In addition, this study will determine whether students with higher-than-average levels of test anxiety have lower levels of academic achievement, as measured on standardized tests than their low-anxiety counterparts. Moreover, an additional factor of good study skills will also be examined to determine whether they affect the levels of test anxiety. Finally, the predictive importance of the variable of test anxiety for student achievement will also be evaluated (Beaulieu et al., 2001). Initial Research Questions Based on the above discussion, the following research questions have been formulated: To what extent do junior high school students suffer from test anxiety? To what extent do students who attend a school in a high-income school district have higher levels of academic performance than their counterpa
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Approximate Word count = 2947
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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