A variety of desensitization and counterconditioning procedures have been utilized to deal with school-related problems. These procedures are reviewed with respect to applications for treating school phobia, test anxiety, and other academic anxieties. (Author)

Argues that writing apprehension can be dispositional, but that it can also arise in response to elements in the writing situation. Discusses the elements in timed writing competence tests that can trigger writing apprehension and hinder effective writing. (JK)

A study of the comparability of results of two techniques of testing, the traditional approach and that of giving the students the questions before the examination, revealed little difference in the two approaches' results, and supports the use of "prior notice" to reduce test anxiety. (MSE)

A language test and five psychosocial measures were used to evaluate the effect of examiners on 32 disabled preschool and school-age children who were moderately to profoundly speech impaired, or both. Results indicated that the children performed significantly better when tested by familiar examiners than by unfamiliar examiners. (Author/ABB)

Administered three item-difficulty sequence forms of an achievement test to 107 sixth-grade students. No relationship between item-difficulty sequence and test performance, reliability, or item difficulty and discrimination was discovered. (Author/JAC)

Parents can help their children prepare for reading tests in a number of ways, not only just before the test, but also with everyday activities. There are generally two types of reading tests given to students: tests given by teachers throughout the year to see what information students have retained, and more formal, often standardized, tests…

This study evaluated the instructional benefits and barriers related to the use of online formative and summative assessment tools. Data were collected from samples of undergraduate students in different semesters to allow for differential use of summative assessment (paper versus online delivery). Formative assessment was manipulated by providing…

Three pilot studies are used to examine the relationships between academic performance, student ability, and motivation among community college students. The first study analyzed the association between motivation and academic performance in order to test the hypothesis that students who are highly motivated will earn higher grades. Results…

One of the most threatening events that causes anxiety in students today is testing. When students develop an extreme fear of performing poorly on an examination, they experience test anxiety. Test anxiety is a major factor contributing to a variety of negative outcomes including psychological distress, academic underachievement, academic failure,…

Major finding from this survey is that both anxiety and locus of control do not seem to bear consistent relationships to social class. (Authors)

A shortened version of the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) was developed. It yielded a coefficient alpha reliability estimated at .98, correlated .97 with the original MARS, and showed relationships with state, trait, and test anxiety parallel to the original MARS. It should be useful for mathematical course-related applications.…

Number right and elimination scores were analyzed on a college level mathematics exam assembled from pretest data. Anxiety measures were administered along with the experimental forms to undergraduates. Results suggest that neither test scores nor attitudes are influenced by item order knowledge thereof, or anxiety level. (Author/GK)

Contrary to expectations, none of the interactions was significant. Failure to replicate previous studies was attributed to control of examiner bias, superior statistical and experimental controls, and to differences in subject characteristics. The efficacy of modeling films was not conclusively demonstrated. (Author)

Factor analysis of the Hare Self-Esteem Scale yielded three separate factors. As expected, home self-esteem was significantly associated with social class; peer self-esteem, with recent family moves; and school self-esteem, significantly with test anxiety and reading and mathematics achievement. (Author/CP)

Test anxiety has been proven to be detrimental to students' standardized test scores. This study found test anxiety to be higher for Blacks than Whites in the junior high school setting examined. Test anxiety could be yet another factor in racial bias of testing. (Author)