Grade Level Differences in the Cognitive, Behavioral, and Physiological Components of Test Anxiety

Abstract

The capacity to cope with test anxiety that contain high concentrations of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological manifestations, is becoming increasingly important in educational contexts as well as evaluative settings. The developing ability to deal with test anxiety relative to the increasingly strict evaluative practices students encounter points that students’ test anxiety may decline as they move through school years. This study examined three test anxiety components (thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions) with students from 3 public schools in İstanbul, Turkey. Using a diverse sample of elementary (Grade 4; N = 414) and middle (Grade 6; N = 201) school students, grade level differences in these components were investigated. Applying a multivariate approach, significant differences were found in the overall test anxiety, favoring fourth grade students. The results also revealed Grade 4 advantage for off-task behaviors and autonomic reactions, = .014 and = .011, but no grade level differences in the thoughts. Educational implications of the findings are discussed.

Assessment of anxiety markers in schoolchildren in a distance learning environment

“…Some studies distinguish cognitive, emotional, and operational components of anxiety [29]. Several psychologists, following Freud's theory of repression, say that anxiety is a result of an intrapersonal conflict, a consequence of 'scissors' between the needs of the 'I' and social demands [30].…”

Discrimination of consonants in quiet and in noise in Mandarin-speaking children with normal hearing

“…First, with children entering kindergarten or primary schools, parents and clinicians were more concerned about whether the consonant discrimination ability of children with HL was comparable to that of children with NH in the same class or grade, instead of “aged peers”. Second, children in the same grade are more likely to develop cognitively at about a similar rate as they share similar language experience in the classroom [ 14 ]. This may lead to reduced variations in consonant discrimination compared to those of the same chronological age.…”