Previous research has shown that college students often report problems with procrastination on academic tasks. A study was conducted to investigate factors related to academic procrastination. Subjects (N=379) completed the Procrastination Assessment Scale on measures of test anxiety, attributions, and self-control. A subset of subjects (N=125)…

This study of Japanese families postulated that positive and negative parental attitudes may affect the degree of test anxiety experienced by children in the families. The study used translations of the Reactions to Tests (RTT) inventory and parental attitude tests to identify relationships between child rearing practices and the child's…

Anxiety is defined as the fear of the unknown. The construct of anxiety incorporates both psychological and physiological components. This study was designed to explore the association between psychometric results and physiological results. The association between perceived effects (i.e., psychological) and actual effects (i.e., physiological) of…

The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and worry and emotionality items from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Form Y) were administered to college students from three metropolitan colleges as part of several psychological experiments. The TAI was administered to a total of 543 students, and the STAI A-State items were administered twice to a…

This booklet is designed for elementary and middle school teachers to use in teaching students how to improve their test-taking skills. The authors draw the analogy between an athlete preparing for the big race and a young student getting ready for an important test. The central character is an underdeveloped test-taking tiger who, after going…

Test anxiety is a common problem manifested by many college students. The Testing and Psychological Services Center at Northern Kentucky University sees a number of such students each semester. The possible causes of test anxiety are frequently the illogical or unrealistic demands that some students place on themselves. The methods of treatment…

Programmed textbooks were used to condition verbal repetoires relevant to motivation, test anxiety, and test wiseness in 118 sixth grade students. There was a significant effect on raw scores on an IQ post test. Students of lower intelligence made greater raw score gains than students with a higher IQ. (Author/GDC)

Suggests that test performance can be improved through test administration procedures that inform students when they are responding to instruments that assess socially desirable attributes (such as aptitude and achievement) and that take into account children's feelings about school tasks. (Author)

A personality construct, preference for course difficulty, was related to test anxiety in a sample of 62 graduate students. Path analysis indicated that trait anxiety directly affects test anxiety and that preference for course difficulty affects test anxiety. The preference for course structure construct was validated. (LMO)

Suggests that text anxiety is a combination of student skill deficits, emotional reactivity, and negative self-attributions. Proposes the use of multimodal approaches to reduce that anxiety. (FL)

An anxiety desensitization method is presented which counters over-arousal through strenuous muscle stretch-tense, deep breath, release-relax and positive suggestion sequences; and uses positive adaptive images to replace negative cognitions and to promote confidence. The addition of the stretch-tense and positive images components are expected to…

Many teachers look at standardized tests as something to be dreaded. This author and teacher looks at standardized-test scores and sees a tool to bring students learning to new heights. This is a way for teachers to target instruction exactly where it's needed. A way to get students looking forward to end-of-the-year tests (really!) as a way to…

Prepublication copies of an extensive test familiarization booklet were sent to a random sample of Scholastic Aptitude Test candidates. The booklet had little, if any, effect on test scores, but it did alter examinees' tendencies to omit questions and improved their confidence with various aspects of test taking. (Author/PN)

A Type VI error results from inconsistency between the researchers' question of interest and the statistical procedures employed to analyze the data. An example of a research problem is analyzed to show the increase in statistical power resulting from improved research design, using multiple regression instead of analysis of variance. (CTM)

A principle component analysis with oblique rotation of the Test Anxiety Scale for Children revealed five cognitive/worry-oriented factors and two emotional/somatic-oriented factors, using data from 849 fifth graders. Achievement motives, future time orientation, and ability were the most important factors, whereas instrumentality revealed itself…