When exams are approaching or are in progress, I occasionally get test anxiety. I begin to wish that the exams could be moved up or that I could learn more about what will be evaluated. When I finally enter the examination room, I sense the need to use the restroom, which causes my palms and underarms to start sweating.
Exam anxiety-inducing Factors Under and Outside a Teacher's Control
Tests that are invalid, tried-and-true, and flawed, ineffective instruction, pressure, and an unfavorable testing atmosphere are all factors that teachers can control. Factors that are out of the instructor's control include unrealistic expectations and perfectionist tendencies, inadequate test taking and study skills, poor prior performance in tests, attention, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (Owens, 2014).
Points at Which Test Anxiety Is Positive and When Unhealthy
Test anxiety is only positive when at a reasonable amount as it gives the student the urge to study and prepared a little bit harder to perform well on the exams (Salend, 2012). However, when in detrimental levels, test anxiety prompts a variety of adverse behavioral, physical and effective warning signs. When test anxiety is to blame for the failure of the exams, then it is outrightly at an unhealthy level.
Types of Students Most Prone to Test Anxiety
The students are most likely to experience detrimental levels of test anxiety those that belong to the gifted class and those that are disabled. Additionally, those that are from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds are also prone to this kind of anxiety, and this is because of psychological, cultural and social beliefs that the group they belong to feel to in a competitive activity that may reinforce undesirable stereotype against them (Salend, 2012).
Experience On How Taking and Creating Tests Align with Instructional Practices
Some of the questions set in the test aim at directly identifying the issue, listing the possible solutions and then selecting the most appropriate of the answers. The teacher translates some aspects of the curriculum in engaging activities which are then presented in the tests practically as it was in the class engaged activities. Additionally, vocabularies and terminologies used in the items of the test are mostly consistent with those in the curriculum and that the teacher used during the study.
How My Educational Community Considers Student Collaborate Test Answers "Cheating"?
The most educational community cannot tolerate cheating in tests. This because it provides all the necessary resources and conducive environment that students need to prepare well for the tests. The only thing allowed in group homework, but tests should be executed at a personal and individual level. The students should be given a chance to ask for clarification on any test question in case they do not understand but not cheating (International Test Commission, 2016).
Extend, And Choice Students Have On Their Tests
A teacher should set questions and from the list ask the student to pick a specific number that they would comfortably answer. Other items can be composed of multiple choices from which to choose the one that appears correct. Only one of the answer from the options should be the correct one. Example of multiple choices could be true or false, yes or no, or even matching the items in the test.
References
International Test Commission. (2016). The International Test Commission Guidelines on Security of Tests, Examinations, and Other Assessments. International Journal of Testing.
Owens, M., Hadwin, J. A., Stevenson, J. & Norgate, R. (2014). When does anxiety help or hinder cognitive test performance? The role of working memory capacity. British Journal of Psychology, 105(1), 92-101.
Salend, S. (2012). Teaching students not to sweat the test. Sites.newpaltz.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2017, from https://sites.newpaltz.edu/ncate/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2014/06/Example-Salend.pdf
