Test Anxiety Levels 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 school 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, & 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

. . .
iety perform better on standardized tests compared to students with lower levels of test anxiety? Is participation in a high- or low-income school district (suburban area) related to test anxiety? To what extent is student study skills/habits related to test anxiety? What additional factors are related to test anxiety? Hypotheses 1. Students with high levels of test anxiety will score significantly lower on standardized tests (math and reading), compared to students with lower levels of test anxiety. 2. School SES will be related to test anxiety levels. 3. High levels of study skills/habits will be positively related to low levels of test anxiety. 4. Test anxiety, income level of school, and study skills/habits will predict academic performance on standardized tests. Definition of Terms Dependent Variable The dependent variable refers to the "response measure of an experiment." It is the targeted behavior or factor that is measured to assess the effect of the independent variable (defined below) (Keppel, Saufley, & Tokunaga, 1992, p. 600). Independent Variable The independent variable refers to the variable to which the subjects are exposed in order to ascertain its effects. Independent variables can be repr
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Schmidt Riniolo, Musch Broder, Analysis SPSS, Study Habits, Collection Population, Reynolds Coy, Anticipated Outcomes, Proposed Timeline, Swanson Howell, test anxiety, Questions Based, academic performance, school ses, related test, related test anxiety, multiple regression, study habits, levels test anxiety, levels test, test anxiety school, anxiety school, study skills/habits, standardized tests, anxiety school ses, factors related test,
Approximate Word count = 3358
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Test Anxiety Levels and Student Performance