Take Control of Your Test Anxiety:Reducing Test Anxiety in a Whole-Class Format

NYASP Conference 2014Sara Dool, M.S. Michelle Storie, Ph.D

Liverpool Central Schools North Syracuse Central Schools

Agenda• Research• Program Information • Assessment Measure• Intervention• Results • Implementation Tips & Suggestions

Test Anxiety Background• Test anxiety affects 10-40% of all students (Gregor,

2005)• Beidel and Turner (1988) found that 60% of youth

identified as displaying test anxiety symptoms also met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder

• Test anxiety has been found to be strongly correlated with symptoms of anxiety disorders and affects a student’s academic and testing performance (Beidel & Turner, 1988; Cheek, Bradley, Reynolds, & Coy, 2002)

Test Anxiety and High-Stakes Tests

• Test anxiety appears to be greater for high-stakes assessments than regular classroom exams

• A study conducted by Segool, Carlson, Von Der Embse, & Barterian (2013) found that students reported significantly greater levels of test anxiety in response to high-stakes test measures in comparison to classroom tests, both for physiological and cognitive symptoms

Anxiety Intervention Techniques• Cognitive-behavioral techniques have been

found to be effective when working with students with anxiety and have shown average effect sizes of 0.6-1.0 (Cheek, Bradley, Reynolds, & Coy, 2002)

• A meta-analysis conducted by Von Der Embse, Baterian, & Segool (2013) suggested that 9 of 10 studies within the past decade reported positive effect sizes, yet the majority of studies were conducted with high school students

Anxiety Intervention Techniques

• Far less research has targeted elementary populations

• Those studies that have addressed elementary school students tend to do so in a pull-out format, in which students miss classroom instruction thus potentially increasing anxiety (Cheek, Bradley, Reynolds, & McCoy, 2002)

Anxiety Intervention Techniques• Cheek, et al. (2002) utilized a “Stop, Drop, and Roll”

technique to address test anxiety in 16 students identified as test-anxious, and found not only improvements in self-reported test anxiety, but successful testing performance in the majority of students who took the statewide tests

• Of the 16 students selected for inclusion in the intervention, 50% had failed the reading portion of a benchmark test while 67% had failed the math portion. Following the intervention, 75% of students passed the reading test, while 94% passed the math portion

Current Study• Researchers attempted to incorporate the

effective techniques from the meta-analysis, as well as the Cheek, et al. (2002) study, and adapt them to elementary school students in a whole-class setting

• A primary goal was to implement a classwide intervention with the focus of decreasing test anxiety and providing strategies that could be easily utilized and accessed by the students

Reason For Referral

• Fourth grade teacher reports of high levels of test anxiety

• Several students already participating in small group or individual counseling due to anxiety

• High level of teacher interest in a grade level intervention focusing on the reduction of test anxiety

Sample

• Suburban/rural school district• K-6 elementary school• 3 fourth grade classrooms• 38 students

– 20 females– 18 males

Assessment Measure

• Westside Test Anxiety Scale (Driscoll, 2004) – brief, 10 item instrument designed to screen and identify students who could benefit

from an anxiety-reduction intervention– 6 of the items assess performance impairment

• i.e. “I lose focus on important exams and can’t remember the material I knew before the exam”

– 4 items examine worry and fears of failure• i.e. “During important exams, I think that I am doing awful or that I may fail”.

– rate each item on a scale of 1 to 5• 1 = never true and 5 = always true

– Responses are summed and divided by 10 to determine a score meaning• 1.0 to 1.9 = comfortably low test anxiety • 2.0 to 2.5 = average test anxiety• 2.5 to 2.9 = high normal test anxiety• 3.0 to 3.4 = moderately high test anxiety• 3.5 to 3.9 = high test anxiety• 4.0 to 5.0 = extremely high test anxiety

Westside Test Anxiety ScaleRate how true each of the following is of you, from extremely or always true, to not at all or never true.Use the following 5 point scale. Circle your answers:5 4 3 2 1extremely highly moderately slightly not at allalways usually sometimes seldom nevertrue true true true true__ 1) The closer I am to a major exam, the harder it is for me to concentrate on the material.5 4 3 2 1__ 2) When I study for my exams, I worry that I will not remember the material on the exam.5 4 3 2 1__ 3) During important exams, I think that I am doing awful or that I may fail.5 4 3 2 1__ 4) I lose focus on important exams, and I cannot remember material that I knew before the exam.5 4 3 2 1__ 5) I finally remember the answer to exam questions after the exam is already over.5 4 3 2 1

Westside Test Anxiety Scale__ 6) I worry so much before a major exam that I am too worn out to do my

best on the exam.5 4 3 2 1__ 7) I feel out of sorts or not really myself when I take important exams.5 4 3 2 1__ 8) I find that my mind sometimes wanders when I am taking important exams.5 4 3 2 1__ 9) After an exam, I worry about whether I did well enough.5 4 3 2 1__ 10) I struggle with written assignments, or avoid doing them, because I feel that whatever I do will not be good enough. I want it to be perfect.5 4 3 2 1_____ Sum of the 10 questions< _____ > Divide the sum by 10. This is your Test Anxiety score.Name ____________________ phone _____________ email ____________________• School ____________© 2004 by Richard Driscoll, Ph.D.You have permission to copy this material.

Baseline Data

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 1 2 3 4

Classroom 1 Self-Ratings

# of Students Per Category

Wes

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Baseline Data

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Classroom 2 Self-Ratings

# of Students Per Category

Wes

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Baseline Data

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 1 2 3 4

Classroom 3 Self-Ratings

# of Students Per Category

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Baseline Data Summary

• 18 out of 38 fourth graders self-rated on the pre-assessment that they experience “moderately high”, “high”, and “extremely high” levels of test anxiety

Intervention• 25 minutes per classroom• 1x week for 7 weeks• Lesson foci:

– General knowledge of test anxiety– Relaxation techniques– Positive self-talk– Note taking strategies– Study skills– Test-taking strategies– Review and practice

Lesson 1-Introduction to Test Anxiety

• Fly Swatter Game

Lesson 2- Deep Breathing & Yoga

Lesson 3- Progressive Muscle Relaxation & Guided Imagery

Lesson 4- Positive Self-Talk

Lesson 5- Note Taking & Study Skills

• Listen carefully for clues from teacher- “This is important”

• Ask questions• Organize notes by topic• Find out key information-what will be on

test, type of test• Find a quiet place• Map out study sessions• Set a goal for each study time- “I will

review 2 pages of math notes”• Take short breaks• Cover up notes & summarize out loud• Make flashcards & practice with study

buddy• Crazy phrases & silly sentences,

acronyms, pictures

Lesson 6- Test-Taking Strategies

Lesson 7- Review

• Summarized & reviewed all strategies discussed

• Students played Fly Swatter review game• Students completed the post-assessment

with the Westside Test Anxiety Scale• Also completed a survey regarding their

perceptions of the program

Results

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Classroom 1 Self-Ratings

self-rating tally post-intervention

self-rating tally pre-intervention

# of Student per Category

Wes

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Results

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Classroom 2 Self-Ratings

self-rating tally post-intervention

self-rating tally pre-intervention

# of Students per Category

Wes

tsid

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est A

nxie

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cale

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egor

ies

Results

comfortably low test anxiety

average test anxiety

high normal test anxiety

moderately high test anxiety

high test anxiety

extremely high test anxiety

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Classroom 3 Self-Ratings

self-rating tally post-intervention

self-rating tally pre-intervention

# of Students per Category

Wes

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Results Summary

• Pre-intervention– 18 out of 38 fourth graders rated test anxiety levels in the

“moderately high”, “high”, or “extremely high” range

• Post-intervention– Only 9 out of 38 fourth graders reported abnormal levels

of test anxiety

• Intervention met the goal of decreasing # of students self-reporting “moderately high”, “high”, and “extremely high” levels of test anxiety

• Effect size= -.58 (medium range)

Effect Size

Tips/Suggestions for Implementation

• Blanket consent form distributed to all with “opt-out” option

• Target teachers with more high-stakes testing• Begin with an icebreaker for rapport• Have the teachers participate to help teach them

how to utilize the strategies effectively• Incorporate hands-on activities when possible

References• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxbdx-SeOOo

click angry bird for 4-7-8 breathing• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CITc2AxYnPY

click poses for yoga video• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaTDNYjk-

Gw progressive muscle relaxation• http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Tr

ip-to-the-Grand-Canyon-A-Visual-and-Physical-Exercise-for-Students-632622 grand canyon guided imagery

• http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Skills-Bingo-32-Unique-Cards-787964 study skills bingo

References• Beidel, D. & Turner, S. (1988). Comorbidity of test anxiety and other

anxiety disorders in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 16(3), 275-287.

• Cheek, J. R., Bradley, L. J., Reynolds, J. & Coy, D. (2002). An intervention for helping elementary students reduce test anxiety. Professional School Counseling, 6(2), 162-165.

•  Driscoll, R. (2004). Westside Test Anxiety Scale.  Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED495968.pdf.

•  Gregor, A. (2005). Examination anxiety: live with it, control it or make it work for you? School Psychology International Journal, 26(5), 617-635.

•  Larson, H. A., Yoder, A., Johnson, C., El Rahami, M., Sung, J., & Washburn, F. (2010). Test anxiety and relaxation training in third-grade students. Eastern Education Journal, 39(1), 13-22.

•  Segool, N., Carlson, J., Goforth, A., Von Der Embse, N., & Barterian, J. (2013). Heightened test anxiety among young children: elementary school students’ anxious responses to high-stakes testing, Psychology in the Schools, 50(5), 489-499.

•  • Von Der Embse, N., Barterian, J., & Segool, N. (2013). Test anxiety

interventions for children and adolescents: a systematic review of treatment studies from 2000-2010, Psychology in the Schools, 50(1), 57-71.