Compared ability of three theoretical models (cognitive-attentional, cognitive-skills, social learning) to explain academic performance and test anxiety of 178 undergraduates. Found that variable sets from all models added unique variance to explain performance and test anxiety. Cognitive-attentional processes emerged as relatively more important…

The effect of 3 item arrangements (easy to hard, hard to easy, and random) on test anxiety was studied using an actual classroom examination administered to 126 graduate students (36 males and 90 females) under power conditions. Results indicate that anxiety level and test item arrangement are related. (TJH)

Data from 72 adults in British university preparation (access) courses showed extreme levels of trait anxiety associated with lower final examination performance. Certain study and coping methods were correlated with final exam scores. Test anxiety was significantly correlated with trait anxiety but not with exam performance. (SK)

Evaluation anxiety can have a significant impact on adult learning, and it is a generally inescapable part of teaching-learning transactions. Too much evaluation anxiety can be devastating. This paper examines the effects of evaluation anxiety on adult learning, discussing the causes, the control measures, and the implications for adult educators.…

Tests the hypothesis that the introduction of computer-adaptive testing may help to alleviate test anxiety and diminish the relationship between test anxiety and test performance. Compares a sample of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test takers who took the computer-adaptive version of the test with another sample who took the…

To decrease nursing students' anxiety during psychomotor skills testing in learning laboratories, paid peer instructors were trained to assist. Over 3 years, 270 students participated and reported positive outcomes. (SK)

This article examines the controversy that continues to surround the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Since its passage, NCLB has been criticized for a number of reasons. One of the criticisms is that it is unfair to include special education students and students with limited English proficiency in the accountability system and judge them by the…

Course experience, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning strategies may be considered to be important indicators of education quality. Inmates taking education in prison may also experience particular problems related to the learning environment and to their own learning difficulties. The present study investigated the level of these…

The relationship of several individual differences variables to Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) as compared with traditional written tests are explored. Seven hundred sixty-five examinees took a Computer Adaptive Test and two fixed-length written tests. Each examinee also answered a computer literacy inventory, a satisfaction questionnaire, and a…

The utility of brief exposure to a mental focusing aid, the Three-Fingers Technique (TFT), in reducing test anxiety was studied for 15 college students. One week before their final examination, the students were given a 15-minute classroom introduction to the TFT, part of the Silva Mental Training Method (1983). After the introduction to this…

While many researchers have examined the effects of test anxiety on examination completion time and performance, most have not controlled for ability in their studies. In this study, it was hypothesized that, when ability was controlled, college students high in state anxiety would take significantly longer to complete an examination and would…

In recent research the assessment of worry and emotionality as separate components of test anxiety has become a salient point. Because of theoretical advances in this field it seems to be necessary to include both aspects in the measures that are used to assess test anxiety. Some literature on this distinction is available, but no longitudinal…

Some of the psychological parameters of a student's educational environment which relate causally to the phenomenon of test anxiety are explored, as are the relationships of all of these factors to the student's academic performance. The study was based upon a person-environment concept of academic behavior. Particular interest centered upon the…

Three programs to improve test-taking performance were evaluated. Subjects who had failed the Chartered Life Underwriter examination were assigned to four treatments: (1) training in test wiseness; (2) systematic densensitization of test anxiety; (3) a combination of (1) and (2); and (4) control. (Author/CTM)

A meta-analysis of the results of 562 studies illustrates the nature, effect, and treatment of academic test anxiety (TA). TA correlated inversely to students' self-esteem and directly to their fears of negative evaluation, defensiveness, and other forms of anxiety. Ability, gender, and school grade level also affect TA. (TJH)