Test Anxiety Is An Issue For Every Demographic And Age...

Test Anxiety Test anxiety seems to be an issue for every demographic and age group when the word â€Å"test† is mentioned. There are many research programs and studies that have been conducted to help determine the cause of test anxiety, what type of test anxiety one gets and measures to take to keep from getting test anxiety. This paper will reveal what exactly test anxiety is, why we get test anxiety, the different kinds of test anxiety and the best way to decrease test anxiety. According to the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), there is no specific category for test anxiety. The DSM recognizes generalized anxiety disorder as a pattern of constant worry and anxiety over many different†¦show more content†¦In the article, Teaching Students Not to Sweat the Test, Salend mentions two phases regarding test anxiety. One of the phases is called anticipatory anxiety, which is described as the anxiety experienced during studying and when thinking about the test itself. The second phase is situational anxiety and this is where anxiety begins while taking the actual test (Salend, 2012). Salend also makes reference to some of the same factors Dusek does, to include the following: unrealistic expectations, negative self-esteem, inadequate studying skills and procrastination (Salend, 2012). Salend also mentions that students with learning disabilities experience higher rates of anxiety, with twenty to forty percent of all students having test anxiety (Salend, 2012). A study conducted by Meijer and Oostdam in 2007 detailed how instruction influences test anxiety. The following questions were addressed: what is the influence of test anxiety in relation to the type of intelligence test, what is the negative influence of test anxiety on intelligence test performance, and what type of test instruction was given and the influence it had on test anxiety. A type of example would be determining if stressful classes lead to a high er anxiety, rather than a reassuring class (Meijer Oostdam, 2007). This study also revealed that the type of instruction conducted did not change the level of anxiety. The final results concluded there is a negative influence on test anxiety during performance in