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Fayth Hulbert
English 111
Lindsay Johnson
AMS Essay/Final Draft
Test Anxiety: The Average Student’s Struggle
Multiple times a year students in today’s academic society, from grade school to college
often suffer from the stress, and uneasiness before, during, or after a test; this is called test
anxiety. You may find yourself asking, what causes this, and how can it be avoided? There are
many factors that can cause test anxiety; the lack of preparation as in waiting until the last
minute to study caused by an outside social distraction, such as: work, family, and socializing
with friends. Another factor is generalized emotional issues an individual can have such as poor
test history or the fear of failure. Although, generalized fears and poor test history are minor
factors with test anxiety, they are still issues that can result in unfortunate final results. The final
and most important factor is the teaching methods in which instructors use in classes to prepare
you for the mid-term, final, or even just a general exam. In many students experiences in adult
education, they have often come to learn that there are three types of teaching methods
instructors use within the classroom atmosphere. The methods used are, lecturing, self-teaching
within the class as well as outside, and group learning and class participation. These three
teaching methods play a huge role in whether or not you can prepare yourself correctly for a test
and feel confident when it is time. While some students can be self-motivated and confident
enough to benefit from any of these three teaching methods, others are not so fortunate.
Although, one way of teaching may not be as helpful as another, test anxiety is a major part of
many students’ academic life. The student’s personal behavior, environments, and the
instructor’s teaching methods being used are major contributors to a student’s educational
success. By analyzing three of the main contributing factors of test anxiety; lack of preparation,
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general emotional and behavioral complications, and the teaching methods being used in the
classroom, we then get a better understanding of this problem, and whether it can help or hinder
our learning experiences, and which in turn, we can then perchance learn how to handle, if not
overcome, the stress and affliction of scholastic test anxiety.
When it comes to the topic of test anxiety, most of us will agree with the fact that it is all
in your head, and, if you study and try hard, you will feel confident when taking your test, no test
anxiety involved. However, when this is said, it is because of the simple lack of knowledge on
the subject. Test anxiety is a real problem; statics show that in 2010 as many as eighty percent of
graduate students suffer from test anxiety. (Williams. 2) To understand more about this problem
we first look at the facts, what exactly is test anxiety? Test anxiety is a type of performance
anxiety, which is a feeling of nervousness or apprehension that comes with the pressure to
succeed. There are four main symptoms one can experience when struck with test anxiety:
physical, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive. The physical symptoms can vary anywhere from
minor headaches, dry-mouth and sweating, to rapid heartbeat, and even fainting. The emotional
symptoms are feelings of fear, disappointment, anger, helplessness, and depression. The
behavioral symptoms can go from slight fidgeting, pacing, to avoiding or as some would call
procrastinating, and in rare cases even substance abuse. Finally, the cognitive symptoms
include, negative thinking and self-talking, racing thoughts, feelings of dread as well as
comparing your-self to others, and the feeling of “going blank” which is forgetting everything
you had prepared yourself for. (Psychological Services Center Para.1-3) These symptoms are
what stem from test anxiety, but test anxiety itself can be brought on by multiple reasons: bad
history taking tests, emotional and behavioral problems an individual may have had prior, and
lack of preparation. The lack of preparation can come from two reasons, procrastination which as
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mentioned above comes from the symptoms of test anxiety, as well as the teaching method that
is being used for the subject in which the test is on. This information is vital to getting a better
knowledge of test anxiety and acknowledging it as an actual disorder, as well as a main problem
in students of the academic world.
Along the same lines of test anxiety being bought on by lack of preparation, the teaching
method being used can also lead a student to having test anxiety, the three teaching methods
lectures, collaborative learning, and self-teaching in some cases can be more of a risk in causing
test anxiety than the other. Various teaching methods are different for everyone in any situation
for example, when we examine the teaching method of lecturing, most students often have one
word that comes to mind “boring”. Paulo Freire, emphasizes on one of these three teaching
methods in his article “The “Banking” Concept of Education” In Freire’s essay, he talks about
the teaching method of lecturing, he explains it “receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the
“banking” concept of education” (Freire 241) he then goes on to explain how he does not agree
with this teaching method what-so-ever by stating “The capability of banking education to
minimize or annul the students creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interest
of the oppressors” (Freire 242) Freire is saying that by lecturing, and having students receive
information, memorize it, and then repeat it does nothing for their creative minds and is then in
turn not helping the student learn information they will use later in life. explaining how when an
instructor gives lectures to the classroom, it comes down to the students becoming robotic in
which they are taking three action only; listen, memorize, repeat. Self-teaching is a way of
learning in which you have to be self-motivated, if you have enough motivation you can excel,
but often rather than not, there is a case of the lack of motivation, which can then cause a student
to lose interest, when this happens there is a greater chance of test anxiety. Paulo Freire, a native
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who has had university studies in law, philosophy, and the psychology of language, supports this
common thought on the lecture teaching method. Freire’s approach to the lecturing teaching
method can be looked at simply, if you’re not interested in what is being taught you then learn
nothing, and this gives you a robotic approach to the subject. By being in a class that is taught
only in lectures you only learn the information you find necessary, but when it comes to exams
of that class, you are more than likely to forget, because of your lack of interest. Thus, the
lecturing teaching method of an educational classroom can give students a higher risk of test
anxiety, if they are unmotivated to enjoy the lecturing teaching experience.
Although the teaching method of lecture may not be a student’s best way of learning,
there are other methods that can be more beneficial to an individual. For example, a teaching
method often used is one called collaborative learning, this a more pro-active way of learning,
where students learn from each other, as well as together as a class. Louis Menand a college
professor at Princeton, Columbia, and the University of Virginia at one time, and author of the
article “What Are Universities For?”, talks very positively about self-teaching and the more
motivated and interested in learning the students are concerning a class, the better they will do;
rather than taking a course for an “easy A”. Group learning however can give a student a more
personal learning experience, and have students be around others that have more motivation,
confidence, and different knowledge. This frequently can make it easier to prepare for a final
test, because one can be less intimidated after taking advice from a fellow student. who may do
better on an exam. Kenneth A. Bruffee explains further about this teaching method in his essay
“The Art of Collaborative Learning: Making the Most of Knowledgeable Peers” by stating the
extremely beneficial qualities it has in academic learning. Group learning, lectures, and self-
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teaching, are very different, and depending on the student, the one being used, can make or break
ones academic success.
On the other hand, another teaching method, known as group learning or collaborative
learning, which is used in today’s classroom frequently, can often be more beneficial to a
student’s educational experience. The collaborative learning teaching method can be described
as, when the class learns from each other and as a whole class by which they participate when
not in small groups. Collaborative learning is beneficial to students who suffer from test anxiety;
by interacting with other students they can get a better feeling of confidence in their studying
techniques by comparing notes, and discussing assignments with others to get an outside look
besides that of the instructors. Kenneth explains the beneficial qualities of collaborative learning
by using the word “change” to help gain an understanding of this method. He states, “familiar to
most readers of the word change. To enjoy such an experience, you don’t have to write a book.
All you have to do is work with an intelligent, compatible committee on an interesting grant
proposal or a new development plan for your college” (Bruffee 399) and he then goes on to talk
about the end result of collaborative learning when he states, “In the end everyone, with a little
help from his and her friends, exceeds what anyone could possibly have learned or accomplish
alone” (Bruffee 399). In short, what Bruffee is saying is you benefit, and learn how to make your
assignment more efficient by taking advice from others. As you can see group learning is a way
for students to learn from others and get outside opinions and advice by taking the guidance from
others; it can make a student more prepared for an exam, and, therefore, lack of preparation as
well as motivation, which can sometimes be caused while being taught in lectures, is avoided.
They then have a greater chance as a final result of less or possibly even no test anxiety.
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Self-teaching, similarly to the lecture teaching method, can be based upon selfmotivation, and interest in what is being taught. This method is when the instructor has the
student do all work at home and teach themselves and when in class the students ask other
students if they have questions, or they continue to work alone. When time for the exam if you
are neither self-motivated, nor interested in the subject and do not indulge, when home or out of
class, it is more than likely you will have test anxiety when it comes to any exam given for the
subject. Paulo Freire touches on this teaching method, while mostly discussing the teaching
method of lecturing; he also states information about self-teaching when talking about his
“Banking” Concept in education. Freire says “the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and
the students comply” which is explaining the self-teaching method perfectly. Freire then goes on
to say, and explain more he says “It is not surprising that the banking concept of education
regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits
entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their
intervention in the world as transformers of that world” (Freire 242) In sum, the more students
are trusted to store information that is uncreative and non-stimulating to their conscious minds,
the less likely they are to retain it fully at a later date in their life. This is very true for selfteaching, when teaching your-self, if the contents of the subject are bland, uninteresting, and
tiresome to the student in which it is trusted to be retained, the more likely the student will not
care to learn it what-so-ever, which is a sure reason this teaching method is a way for a student to
more than likely have severe test anxiety when time for the exam. However, Louis, does not see
self-teaching as negatively as Freire, he speaks of how self-teaching and motivation is a very
beneficial, as well as promising way of teaching, although, in the end it all comes down to the
students who are motivated and willing to let it work for them. Menand taught a class called
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introduction to poetry which was what he says “always overenrolled” (Menand 254) he believed
it was this way because the class was a way to fulfill three mandatory requirements for any
degree. He explains that most of the students who started the class ended up dropping it halfway
through the course if not before, but then Menand explains the reason behind this; he states “It
isn’t hard to guess the motives behind the controversy in its present melodramatic mode. It is
always tempting to blame bad conditions on bad ideas” (Menand 257) in other words rather than
putting your mind to the work assigned to you, it is easier to become unmotivated and blame it
on an occurrence outside of your educational environment. Menand believes if you are
motivated to do well in a class that does meet your expectations and interest you can succeed, no
matter the circumstances, this is true for the self-teaching method as well. Whether you agree
with Freire or with Menand on the method of self-teaching, depending on your motivation
towards the subject being taught you can either succeed, or destroy in your chances of having
test anxiety during any exam for the course.
In conclusion, studies have shown that many students in adult education today undergo
the struggle of test anxiety, for some, it can be the cause of failure, and to others just a minor
nuisance. Test anxiety can be broken down into three factors, emotional, cognitive, and the
teaching method being used within the classroom. The emotional factor of test anxiety can cause
minor physical symptoms such as headaches, and more major symptoms like excessive sweating,
and even fainting. The cognitive also known as behavioral factor of test anxiety which can be
outside distractions, and lack of preparation for a test, this is also known as the term
“procrastination”. The final factor of test anxiety among students today is the teaching methods
that are used within the classrooms, there are three different types: lecturing, group or
collaborative learning, and self-teaching. Collaborative learning is the most efficient teaching
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method to avoid test anxiety if you can benefit from learning as a group amongst peers as well as
in the class together. It can often help students prepare for exams, they retain more information
within the class, and it’s beneficial to their creative minds. However, the teaching methods of
both lecturing and self-teaching have a higher risk of causing students to have test anxiety when
a student is unmotivated to learn about the subject being taught with these methods, because of
the simple fact that they can be uninteresting to the unmotivated student, and can often give them
a harder time to retain the information. Both Paul Freire and Kenneth A. Bruffee talk about the
negative qualities of lecturing and self-teaching versus the positive qualities of collaborative
learning, however Louis Menand disagrees and believes if you’re motivated and eager to learn
self-teaching, or any teaching method can be beneficial to a student’s academic success. Being
knowledgeable about this major ordeal amongst adult educational society, and the main factors:
emotional, cognitive, and teaching methods being used, that can cause it; students in turn will be
able to: self-motivate, better prepare for test, and be more aware of the physical and mental
appearance of test anxiety itself. When we can keep all of this knowledge upfront and stay aware
of it, we can take the necessary precautions when the problem occurs, and students can better
handle, if not possibly dominate the communal challenges of test anxiety.
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Works Cited
1. Bruffee, Kenneth, A. “The Art of Collaborative Learning: Making the Most of Knowledgeable
Peers. “Composing Knowledge”. Ed. Rolf Norgaard. Boston: Bedford/St. Martian’s,
2007. 398-408. Print
2. Freire, Paulo. “The “Banking” Concept of Education.” “Composing Knowledge”. Ed. Rolf
Norgaard. Boston: Bedford/St. Martian’s, 2007. 239-253. Print
3. Menand, Louis. “What Are Universities For?” “Composing Knowledge”. Rolf Norgaard.
Boston: Bedford/St.
Martian’s, 2007. 254-269. Print
4. 2013 Psychological Services Center. “Some”
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/rc_files/testanxietyhandout.pdf University of Cincinnati.
Physiological Services Center. 2004. Web. 27 March 2013.
5. Williams, Amanda S. “Statistics.” Journal of Statistics Education Volume 18, Number 2
(2010): n. pg. Web. 27 March.