Test Anxiety In Children Research Articles

Test Anxiety Among Czech Pupils in Lower-Secondary Education

Test anxiety remains a compelling focus of contemporary research. This attention may be, in part, due to the continued reliance on high-stakes testing, which plays a pivotal role in students' academic trajectories. Our research had several objectives. Given the lack of research on test anxiety in the Czech Republic, our primary aim was to adapt and validate the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS) on a sample of 740 lower-secondary students (ages 13-15). The results demonstrated adequate construct validity, supporting the three-factor model of the CTAS. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between test anxiety, academic self-concept, and educational outcomes alongside other demographic variables. Our findings revealed a strong negative correlation linking students' academic self-concept and test anxiety. Although no direct correlation emerged between test anxiety and educational outcomes, a linear regression indicated a significant shift: educational outcomes (grades) became significant predictors when considered in conjunction with academic selfconcept. Additionally, our study confirmed a significant impact of gender on test anxiety levels (girls exhibited higher test anxiety than boys) and a modest but significant correlation with parental educational background.

A systematic review on test anxiety in children and young people with learning difficulties

This systematic review explores test anxiety in children and young people (CYP) with learning difficulties. Research has found that students with learning difficulties experience higher levels of anxiety about school compared to peers without learning difficulties. One area of school that has had little research is test anxiety, therefore further exploration is needed. Nine papers resulted from the systematic search. It was found that CYP with learning difficulties can experience test anxiety. There are a variety of internal and external factors which have an interactional relationship with test anxiety. A model was developed to illustrate these factors including characteristics of tests, perceptions of support, self‐belief and cognition and learning skills. This can be used to explore potential reasons for test anxiety in CYP with learning difficulties and to provide subsequent support.

The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on exam anxiety and academic vitality

Background and purpose: Examining the issues and problems of students in the field of education and personality and identifying the factors that probably hinder their personal and social growth is of particular importance in every society. The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral game therapy on exam anxiety and academic vitality in elementary school boys. Methods: This research was applied in terms of purpose and in terms of implementation method, it was a semi-experimental type with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population in this research included all male students of primary school in district 2 of Sari city. In this research, a sample consisting of 30 students who were selected by voluntary sampling from among all the male students of primary school in district 2 of Sari city. They were randomly divided into two groups of 15 people (cognitive behavioral play therapy and control group). The data were collected using the children's test anxiety questionnaire (Wren and Benson, 2004) and the academic vitality questionnaire (Martin and Marsh, 2006) and were analyzed by univariate covariance analysis and spss.22 software. The significance level of the tests was considered 0.05. Results: The results showed that cognitive behavioral game therapy led to a significant improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group in reducing exam anxiety (P<0.001) and increasing academic vitality (P<0.001) in male students. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this research, cognitive behavioral game therapy can be used to improve exam anxiety and academic vitality in students in psychology and counseling centers.

An exploratory study of the relationship between a student's anxiety level and that of their peers in the same classroom

Test anxiety (arising during evaluation situations) can play a role in the well-being of youth. Although various factors have been studied to identify the origin of test anxiety, very few studies have assessed the role that peers play for test anxiety. Yet, it is well known that peers influence youth, particularly in the classroom where students often adopt the same behaviour as their classmates. This study assessed the relationship between a student's level of test anxiety and that of their classmates. No hypotheses were formulated as this study was exploratory. Data was collected in Montreal schools (Canada) from a cohort of 302 students aged 10 to 12 during their fifth and sixth grade school years. Test anxiety was assessed using the Children's Test Anxiety Scale. Mixed linear regressions revealed that a student's level of test anxiety was not significantly associated with their classmates' levels of test anxiety (F=0.57, p>0.5, BH0 = 1.80). Being surrounded by anxious students may not be a strong predictor of a student's anxiety level. This study was one of the first to assess the role of classmates on anxiety, which is vital for a broader understanding of the nature of youth's anxiety.

Family socioeconomic status and Chinese high school students' test anxiety: Serial mediating role of parental psychological control, learning resources, and student academic self-efficacy.

It is widely documented that students with lower family socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have higher test anxiety than their peers from higher SES families. However, few studies have empirically examined the underlying mechanism whereby family SES shapes students' test anxiety. To bridge this gap, the present study proposed and tested a serial mediation model in which family SES is associated with students' test anxiety through the indirect effect of parental psychological control, access to learning resources, and academic self-efficacy. The sample comprised 354 Chinese high school students (134 boys; mean age=16.15years old). The results were as follows: (1) higher family SES was associated with increased access to learning resources, higher academic self-efficacy, lower parental psychological control, and lower test anxiety. In contrast, test anxiety was associated with decreased access to learning resources, lower academic self-efficacy, and higher parental psychological control; and (2) the mediation model indicated parental psychological control, learning resources, and academic self-efficacy functioned as serial mediators in the relationship between family SES and students' test anxiety (i.e., family SES → psychological control and learning resources → academic self-efficacy → test anxiety). The findings are discussed in the framework of the family stress/investment models and social cognitive theory. Concrete suggestions for how low SES parents can help decrease their children's test anxiety are provided.

Intervention Program To Reduce The Level Of Test Anxiety In A Primary School Class. A Pilot Study

The aim of study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program to reduce the level of test anxiety in a primary school class in the urban environment (N = 25, 2nd class). The level of test anxiety was evaluated using the Test Anxiety in Children, developed by Wren and Benson in 2004. The intervention program took place over a period of six weeks with a frequency of three times a week, consisting of six activities implemented in school in the personal development discipline with the help of the formative stories created for the purpose of the program, six activities based on independent work in solving some assessment task of the Language and Communication and Mathematics disciplines of didactic auxiliaries in order to prepare pupils for the Second Class National Assessment and six self-employed activities in homework completion after school classes. The program's effectiveness was performed by analyzing the two-stage results of the test using the intragroup comparison test. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that the level of test anxiety in second-class students in the experimental group is lower in the posttest (t = 2,328, p = 0,029), and the magnitude of the effect obtained indicates a moderate value. The results on subscales indicate statistically significant differences in the thought subscale (t = 2.54, p = 0.027) with lower posttest scores, and the effect size is moderate too.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a mindfulness coloring activity for test anxiety in children

ABSTRACTThe authors investigated the effectiveness of a mindfulness art activity compared with a free draw/coloring activity on test anxiety in children. The sample consisted of 152 students (50% female; Mage = 10.38 years, SD = 0.88 years) randomly assigned to a mindful (n = 76) or free (n = 76) group. Participants completed a standardized measure of anxiety and state mindfulness before and after the coloring activity, immediately before a spelling test, as well as a measure of dispositional mindfulness. Results revealed an overall significant decrease in test anxiety and an overall significant increase in state mindfulness following the interventions. Furthermore, although a significant negative correlation was found between dispositional mindfulness and change in state mindfulness pre- and post-coloring intervention, a significant positive correlation was found between dispositional mindfulness and pre-intervention state mindfulness, suggesting a possible ceiling effect. Explanations for these findings and implications for school personnel and future research are discussed.

Adolescents' perceived parental psychological control and test anxiety: Mediating role of academic self-efficacy

We examined the relationship between parental psychological control and their children's test anxiety in the Chinese cultural context, and tested the mediating role of the children's academic self-efficacy in this relationship. Chinese high-school students (N = 401, 158 boys and 243 girls), aged between 15 and 18 years, completed a self-report survey assessing parental psychological control, academic self-efficacy, and test anxiety. The results showed a positive association between parental psychological control and the students' test anxiety. The students' academic self-efficacy was negatively correlated with parental psychological control and the students' test anxiety. Additionally, results of structural equation modeling indicated that the students' academic self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of their perception of parental psychological control on their test anxiety. These results reveal the negative influence of parental psychological control on their children's test anxiety and identify academic self-efficacy as a mediating variable through which parental psychological control exerts effects on their children's test anxiety.

Effectiveness of a Classroom Mindfulness Coloring Activity for Test Anxiety in Children

To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based structured versus unstructured coloring on test anxiety, 52 participants (53.8% female; Mage = 10.92 years, SD =.82) were randomly assigned to either a structured mandala (n = 26) or free coloring condition (n = 26), and completed a standardized anxiety measure to assess anxiety before and after coloring, immediately before a spelling test. Results revealed an overall decrease in anxiety for both groups. However, a significant gender by group interaction demonstrated that while both genders experienced anxiety reduction in the mandala condition, males reported a greater anxiety reduction in the free coloring condition while females only benefited from the mandala condition. Possible explanations for these gender effects are explored and future directions discussed.

Cultural and Gender Differences in Experiences and Expression of Test Anxiety Among Chinese, Finnish, and Swedish Grade 3 Pupils

While test anxiety has been studied extensively, little consideration has been given to the cultural impacts of children's experiences and expressions of test anxiety. The aim of this work was to examine whether variance in test anxiety scores can be predicted based on gender and cultural setting. Three hundred and ninety-eight pupils in Grade 3 in China, Finland, and Sweden, each of which has different testing realities, completed the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS). Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) results indicated that the Chinese sample scored more highly on the autonomic reactions component, whereas the Nordic sample scored higher on the off-task behaviors component. Significant interaction effects between gender and culture were also observed: The Nordic girls exhibited higher levels of autonomic reactions, but the opposite was seen in the Chinese sample, with boys reporting higher levels of the cognitive component. The conceptualization of test anxiety encompassing the off-task behaviors component does not appear to be universal for children. It is also suggested that gender differences vary as a function of culture.

완벽주의와 인지적 정서조절 전략이 시험불안에 미치는 영향

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of perfectionism and cognitive-emotion regulation strategies on the test anxiety. The participants in this study were 423(227 boys, 196 girls) 6th graders recruited from four elementary schools in Seoul, Korea. The participants completed the Test Anxiety Inventory-Korea(Kim, 1991), the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale(CAPS; Flett at al, 2000), and the Cognitive-Emotion Regulation Questionnaire(CERQ; Garnefski, 2001). The results of this study were as follows. First, self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism were both positively associated with test anxiety. Additionally, the children who used more adaptive cognitive-emotion regulation strategies reported lower test anxiety, whereas the children who used more maladaptive cognitive-emotion regulation strategies reported higher test anxiety. Secondly, there was an interactional effect between self-oriented perfectionism and maladaptive cognitive-emotion regulation strategies on test anxiety. Lastly, socially prescribed perfectionism and cognitive-emotion regulation strategies had a significant effect on children's test anxiety. However, there were no interactional effects observed between socially prescribed perfectionism and cognitive-emotion regulation strategies on test anxiety.

Measuring test anxiety in children: Scale development and internal construct validation

Given the increased testing of school-aged children in the United States there is a need for a current and valid scale to measure the effects of test anxiety in children. The domain of children's test anxiety was theorized to be comprised of three dimensions: thoughts, autonomic reactions, and off-task behaviors. Four stages are described in the evolution of the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS): planning, construction, quantitative evaluation, and validation. A 50-item scale was administered to a development sample (N=230) of children in grades 3–6 to obtain item analysis and reliability estimates which resulted in a refined 30-item scale. The reduced scale was administered to a validation sample (N=261) to obtain construct validity evidence. A three-factor structure fit the data reasonably well. Recommendations for future research with the scale are described.

Parental perfectionism and children's test anxiety.

This study investigated the association between parental perfectionism and students' test anxiety, as measured on self-report questionnaires. A random sample of 90 students in their last two years of secondary schooling and their parents (81 mothers, 76 fathers), with approximately equal numbers of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, were included. A significant contribution to anxiety associated with an examination was by maternal perfectionistic attitudes. Girls had higher scores on Test Anxiety than boys. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship of Test Anxiety to family variables, and directions for research are indicated.

Children's Test Anxiety and Family Interaction Patterns

The relationship between family interaction and children's test and trait anxiety was studied among 152 parent couples, and their children (aged 11-12 years). The results reveal a relationship between children's test and trait anxiety and the following patterns of perceived family interaction: communication, encouragement of personal growth, and system maintenance. Discrepancies between family members' perceptions (father and mother, father and child) were also found. Anxiety levels were linked more to children's perceptions of family variables than to parents' reports. Children's scores for four of the five family variables were lower than those of their parents.

The effect of a story-based cognitive behavior modification procedure on reducing children's test anxiety before and after cancellation of an important examination

This study was originally planned to examine the effects of a story-based cognitive behavior modification procedure specifically designed to help the fifth grade elementary school students to manage their anxiety before they attend a nation-wide secondary school entrance examination. The examination was cancelled after the children attended. This naturally occurred treatment was included in the study and the effect of the cancellation on the maintenance of the treatment outcome was also investigated. Twenty subjects (10 girls, 10 boys) were selected out of a total of 144 fifth grade children who would attend the exam, on the basis of the Turkish version of Test Anxiety Inventory and, assigned to treatment and control groups. The results showed that the story based cognitive behavior modification procedure was more effective than no treatment in reducing the subjects' test anxiety and the effect was maintained after cancellation of the first and three days prior to the second examination. The results also demonstrated that the effectiveness of the procedure was superior in modifying the emotionality component of test anxiety and this effectiveness continued after the cancellation of the examination.

Test anxiety in children and adolescents

This paper selectively reviews the literature on test anxiety in children and adolescents. Following discussion of the deleterious effects of test anxiety and its prevalence in schools, we examine various factors that contribute to the development of this condition. Test anxiety is also considered in relation to childhood anxiety disorders, with concern being noted for reliability and validity of diagnostic practices. With regard to measures of test anxiety, we focus on the Test Anxiety Scale for Children, the Children's Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire, physiological assessment, and behavioural observation. Reflecting the influence of conditioning principles, several interventions are described and evaluated. Finally, a number of conceptual and methodological limitations are briefly outlined.

Effects of test anxiety, tests, and sleep on children's performance

This study examined the interrelationship between children's test anxiety, sleep, and performance. The subjects, 239 sixth and seventh graders, responded to questionnaires examining sleep behavior and test anxiety on a day when they had a major exam in school, and on a day when they did not. They also completed a vigilance task on both days. The results showed that partial sleep loss (i.e., under 3 hr) did not adversely influence subjects' performance on the vigilance task or on the actual class exam. However, the results did reveal that test anxiety was negatively related to performance on the class exam.

Cross-lagged analysis of children's test anxiety and defensiveness.

Cross-lagged analysis of children's test anxiety and defensiveness.

Cross-lagged analysis of children's test anxiety and defensiveness.

Cross-lagged analysis of children's test anxiety and defensiveness.

The Relation Between Human Figure Drawing and Test Anxiety in Children

Summary To assess the validity of the Human-Figure Drawing Projective Test (HFD) as a measure of test anxiety, 27 HFD scoring indices were developed, yielding a total HFD score, cautiousness subscale, and poor-planning subscale. Fifty-seven girls and 76 boys from grades five and six each completed four HFD tests, a test-anxiety and defensiveness questionnaire, and a problem-solving task which yielded four behavioral measures. Correlations between all measures, and step-wise regression analyses using subscale measures, six independent measures of anxiety, and IQ were obtained. Total HFD scores were related to self-reported test anxiety (r = .40), defensiveness (r = .24) and response latency in problem solving (r = .91), but individual HFD indices and subscales had little predictive value.