We cannot make the pressures go away, but we can do a significant share to reduce the accompanying anxieties.
Treating performance anxieties may be as cost effective as anything that a school system can reasonably offer. While exact figures are hard to find, we can estimate that 18% of students have severe test anxiety. So in an average class of 30, expect 5 students to have a serious anxiety impairment.
Those with relentless anxiety may perform at about 12 percentile points below their potential, learning less then they otherwise might and under-performing on classroom exams. Test anxiety reduction clearly improves student test scores, along with reducing much of the pain and suffering of the highly anxious students. Of highly anxious students who review the Tame Test Anxiety CD twice, 80% report improvement on their next tests.* The average highly anxious student reports being only moderately anxious on tests after the training.*
If the most anxious 5% of students can improve an average of just 10% on tests, that results in a measurable half percent increase in overall school system achievement. Reducing test anxiety impairment is comparable to finding glasses for nearsighted youngsters, so they can see the chalkboard, or attaining appropriate medications for ADHD students, to allow them to concentrate. Severe test anxiety seems to be the remaining easy-to-treat condition. Is it time to take this one seriously, and free our most vulnerable students from its painful confusion.
Q. Do students need to repeat the training each time they take a test?
A. No! The Tame Test Anxiety training provides relatively enduring benefits, and need not be repeated prior to each test. We ask students to review the training at least twice, and then again in later weeks as needed. Six of our pilot research students reviewed the CD only once, and five of the six still showed clear benefits on their next tests.
Who are the test anxious students? Westside Psychology offers here a short 10 question survey, to identify which students are severely test anxious and would benefit from test anxiety reduction training. You are authorized to copy our survey, enclosed, as many times as you wish, and to use it to screen your students, over the next 2 years, without licensing. You can also print it from our website, at www.peacewithmyself.com. Screening guidelines are included, and you are authorized to copy our guidelines as well and to provide them for students and parents.
You might ask teachers to mention test anxiety symptoms to their classes and mention that treatment is available. Teachers might invite students with questions to see them after class, and then refer those students to the counselors. You can post the Test Anxiety Scale for students, or pass it out to students, or send it home and involve the parents. You can also use it a second time with students who take the training, after several tests, to gauge improvement.
High Anxiety? Screen you students
(free).
Test Anxiety
Scale
What does your score mean? Find your score, and interpret the results.
Test Anxiety
Scale Results
Schools might want to involve the parents, and some school administrations might want signed permission to treat. You can send home any of our information to parents. A permissions form is available on our website (click below). You are welcome to reprint the form. You are welcome to alter it to suit you needs, although we do ask that you leave the reference to our website so that parents can access our information.
Each Tame Test Anxiety CD includes permission to use the CD in schools and institutions with a single student, and we strongly recommend that each student take a CD home for review as needed. See our website for volume discounts. Or call us at 800 769-0962.
© 2003 by Westside Psychology
Duplication permitted.