Researching Academic and Examination Stress in Secondary School Students - Essay Example

? Researching Academic and Examination Stress in Secondary School Collage: Lecturer: Introduction With the 20th century having been characterised with anxiety and the present century reporting high stress level, humankind have displayed varied reactions with different degrees of intensity to the environment. In an academic setting, such as a secondary school, a student does react in the form of mental distress to an awaited frustration allied to failure in yearly examination or even the responsiveness of the likelihood of such failure (Gupta & Khan 1987, p.360). By definition, academic stress refers to an emotional tension of a student which is more often than not conveyed or felt by him/her during his/her inability to cope up with the academic demands. The consequences of this emotional tension are in the offing of being put on a display in the form of foremost health perils and problems both mental and physical. Stress related diseases, such as peptic ulcer, high blood pressure, headaches and allergies may also be reported among the affected. In academic realms, stress may prove to be a negative predictor of academic performance. The great expectation of parents for their children to achieve good mars in their examination is among the leading sources of stress among school children. In the present century, students are having more homework in the previous years and that in the event that these scholars fail to do the homework as per the expectations of the teachers; the end result is cumulative academic stress (Hardy 2003, p.1). Perceptibly, such incidents ought to have motivated snowballing number of psychologists, social activists and educationists to contemplate over the relationship between academic stress and academic achievement in secondary school students; whether increasing the burden of studies is heightening the students’ levels of achievement and if this is the case, what side effects such stress has on the health of the students (Rothman 1995, p.6). This paper therefore aims at addressing in details the effects of pressure on high school students in performing well in high-stakes standardized tests. As will be noted in subsequent paragraphs of this paper, high school students have been subjected to significant pressure so as to meet the relatively high demands of high-stakes tests in their various types. Literature Review Across the globe, it has been noted that American students are among the most tested, taking over hundred million standardized tests year in year out (Mayer 2008, p.21). Presently, test score are more significant for secondary students since they have the perception that their future is significantly dependent on performing well on high-stakes standardised tests such as tests for admission in colleges the likes of ACT or SAT, state sponsored proficiency tests and advanced placement exams. Although testing is undeniably an expedient tool for making decisions as regards to stimulating a student from one grade to the other, teacher accountability and college admissions, it over and over again puts tremendous pressure on high school students. According to various research studies, it has been evidenced that examinations (testing) has the potential of producing anxiety among high school students. Moreover, these studies have linked testing with doing a great deal in lowering students’ self-esteem as well as increasing their fear of failure (Hardy 2003, p.1). Over the past few years, the number of students enrolling for advanced placement course has been on the increase, with students being subjected to high-stakes tests on completing the course. A great percentage of these students feel pressured by their teachers, parents as well as the learning institutions to such higher level advanced placement courses since they are in possession of their college applications (Rothman 1995, p.15). Additionally, students in some cases tae many advanced placement courses so as to assist them feel better about themselves following their enrolment to academically challenging classes. Yet, more often than not, students enrolling for these classes having a clear understanding of the volume of work required of them and not having weighed their ability to comfortably handle the work and thereafter perform better on the advanced placement tests (Sacks 1999, p.23). At the end of the day, this inadequacy in preparation makes the students feel worse about themselves, as well as pulls down their self-esteem. These high achievers in many cases end up being emotional in the event that they get less than an A grade in the course they are undertaking or even their performance in high-stakes tests is poor. The notable thing is that there is less stress among the students taking regular high school courses since they do not receive the same type or amount of work as their counterparts in the accelerated program (Rothman 1995, p.19). Following the enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act by President George Bush in the start of 2001, all school systems were forced to lay emphasis on test scores. This act necessitated students in grades three all through to high school to be tested on a yearly basis in reading, Mathematics, Science and language arts. Moreover, this Act obliged public schools to evidence that the students in their schools are academically progressing each and every year. After assuming office, President Barack Obama also endorsed the Race to the Top Act in March 2010, which compelled both local and state school districts to compensate well-doing schools in terms of their test scores and at the same time refurbish those which do not. States ended up being pressurised to elevate academic standards by laying emphasis on science and math and giving a hand in preparing students for more high-stakes courses and tests (Browser 2010, p.1). The phrase high-stakes tests used in earlier paragraphs has to been used in the definition of tests which have consequences to students, schools, teachers and even school systems (Elford 2002, p.12). For instance, students may be deprived of enrolment in certain courses in the event that their scores miss the mark of meeting established gates. Additionally, these students may end up being retained at a grade level until that time they will meet a certain score. In some cases, they may also be prevented from graduating (Jones, Jones & Hargrove 2003, p.17). High school junior and/or senior students ordinarily have a feeling that they ought to meet demanding college admission test score requirements for them to be accepted in majority of the colleges. As thus, attaching the aforementioned high-stakes scores more often than not intensifies the anxiety associated with standardized tests. According to Popham (2003, p.35), anxiety is one of the intensively studied psychological variable. Anxiety, by definition, denotes a situation of intense agitation, tension, apprehension, worry and fear resulting from a real and/or discerned threat of impending danger, causing instantaneous mind-body reaction. The effects of this anxiety, according to Mayer (2008, p.37), are felt behaviourally, physiologically and psychologically, often simultaneously. Various studies have availed substantial documentation as pertains to the negative effects of test anxiety on the academic of the students. This test anxiety has over and again been characterised as cognitive (worry) and affective responses to the potentiality of adverse rejoinders being born of performance on a test or in an evaluative situation (Deffenbacher 1980, p.112). Affective responses, ordinarily known as emotionality, refer to the behavioural response or the physiological reaction to situations which are considerably testing. Cognitive response (worry), on the other hand is that concern as regards to the performance of a test perceived likely for failure. Although both emotionality and worry are individual components, they are closely connected in relation to one another (Deffenbacher 1980, p.113). Students suffering from test anxiety are not necessarily deficient of intelligence or ambition; instead, it is the anxiety which does interfere with their academic performance and more especially when they are subjected to high-stakes standardized tests (Everson & Millsap 1991, p.244). In a meta-analysis of five hundred and sixty researches related to academic achievement and test anxiety, it was found out that poor performance among high school students was routinely born of test anxiety. In addition, researchers have also come to the discovery that the impacts of test anxiety on the achievement of a student are recurrently influenced by the evaluations of the test performance of the student. In those classes where students feel highly threatened by evaluation, for instance, those students suffering from high test anxiety are likely to perform more poorly on the tests than those students whose test anxiety levels are medium or low (Sacks 1999, p.27.). According to Mayer (2008, p.35), the symptoms of anxiety among secondary school students range from mild to severe. This test anxiety may so been exhibited in physical symptoms such as shallow breathing and hyperventilation, extreme rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones, shaky limbs and trembling, pounding heart, dry mouth, heart palpitations and sweating, diarrhoea and/vomiting, body and muscle tension, nausea and headaches (Mayer 2008, p.39). Other physical symptoms of academic-related anxiety include fatigue, hives and rashes, skin eruptions and eating and sleeping problems. On the other hand, the mental and emotional symptoms of anxiety are equally upsetting and these include such as a sense of hopelessness, loss of concentration, shame and anger. Sacks argue out that students with test anxiety have a tendency of suffering on a daily basis (Sacks 1999, p.38). he goes ahead to note that even those students whose tests scores are considerably high are predisposed to chronic emotional stress. Some students also go blank out on tests as a result of nervousness (Mayer 2008, p.43). On the other hand, there those who feel overwhelmed and this is in the offing of leading to underachieving or even giving up on school among the students. Since the same students are likely to be placed in lower academic classes, they end up feeling ashamed of themselves as well as isolated from their associates and social activities (Sacks 1999, p.40). This test anxiety also has a number of long-term effects including dropping out of school, feeling inadequate to reach one’s potential or in some circumstances, the growth of mental disorders, the likes of depression and anxiety disorders. Students may even end up plugging themselves into drug and alcohol use. Researches have evidenced that test anxiety is among the foremost problems in high schools across the globe, affecting millions of students, a majority of whom are girls. According to test anxiety researches, it has been found out that the females are the ones who worry more than their male counterparts and as thus, they are the ones reported to have experienced higher stress levels. Although both the females and males react differently in a testing situation, it has been evidenced that the females do exhibit higher test anxiety than their counterparts. This is so since the female students have reported to be feeling more uncomfortable, worried and self-conscious in testing circumstances as contrasted to the males (Browser 2010, p.1). Comparatively, females have higher probabilities of taking an evaluative situation as a threat, while the males take the same as a personal challenge. As thus, the males are more likely to exhibit moderate anxiety in a testing circumstance, unlike the females whose anxiety levels are high. This difference in anxiety levels, according to some scholar, is as a result of different societal gender expectations. Children abide by societal mores and norms that influence gender-related roles and as thus, they do identify activities to be either of a masculine of feminine footing. Ordinarily, females outperform males academic-wise simply because they are more not only thorough, but also dedicated to their school work while the males have a feeling that they ought to prove their prowess athletically since it is through this that their masculinity with be displayed (Elford 2002, p.34). Undoubtedly, all students experience anxiety irrespective of their grade levels. Nevertheless, there are those grade levels where the students perform more poorly on tests than they should actually done as a result of anxiety, which affects their ability to do well. During their very first year in high school, the greatest percentage of grade nine students are confronted with unfamiliar stressors academically. These academic stressors are in the offing of negatively affecting both their well-being and their health (Jones, jones & Hargrove 2003, p.39). Factually, these students have to tune themselves to a considerably stressful educational setting which can entail intense academic challenges, increased pressure to execute unfamiliar tasks and a new and different social environment which may equally negatively impact their academic lives. Students who are naturally high achievers are more stressed than those who are not. This is because the high achievers are making all their efforts so as to retain their rank and resultantly be accepted at highly revered colleges. As a result, a majority of the high school students suffer very high stress levels due to academic pressures as well as high-stakes standardised tests (Mayer 2008, p.56). Examination stress is boiling over and secondary school students are, undeniably, feeling the heat in the high-octane academic pressure cooker. More often than not, these students are being immobilized by vast extents of stress. Academic stress has ended up being a yearly ritual, causing unbearable panic and anxiety among secondary school students; and in some cases, the anxiety is spilling over to the parents. In the society in which we are members of, examinations are a mark of achievement (Deffenbacher 1980, p.119). This has moulded the society in such a way that that student who has scored the highest mark is viewed as being better than the rest. Even in the event that a child raises her ability by a quantifiable margin throughout the academic year and had for sure worked hard enough, t is only the mark that counts to the parents and the teachers; rather than the improvements so made. With the competition for marks having grown stiffer and stiffer than was the case some years back, high school students have been subjected to tremendous pressure to not only pass, but to also excel academically. What majority of the stakeholders do not know is that a great percentage of the students can make it (Everson & Millsap 1991, p.246). The stress that high school students are experiencing today is unprecedented; with advanced education past high school being a necessity for those individuals who are not is a position of or interested in post-secondary education. For those in want of getting into better programs or schools, the standards are very high to the extent that a single bad grade is likely to cost them measurable grief. This has caused the school going children to even become worried not only about their school academic performance, but also about entrance to university. High levels of stress, and its manifestations, are doing greatly working towards impairing the student’s memory and concentration levels (Sacks 1999, p.45). Moreover, the same is working against the student’s best performance. Pressure to conform to the norms as well as unhealthy expectation has over and again produced a learning environment that is considerably toxic. Elements influencing the amount of stress felt by a student One of the leading elements influencing the examination study stress is the amount of planning and preparation that the students put into study towards a specific exam. This therefore trickles down to what we may refer, in simple terms, as the student’s study habits. The amount of stress felt by a student is also as a result of how confident the student feels as regards to the material he or she is being tested on. A number of groups of students predisposed to feeling the effects off examination stress are those who have the expectations of covering everything in the course work in a perfect way. Moreover, unmotivated students of the aspects of making learning efforts or adequate preparation for an examination as well as those struggling to better comprehend the course are among those student at great risk of being stressed up (Gupta & Khan 1987, p.363). Another of the factors affecting the amount of stress felt is motivation. In a student’s learning and studying processes, motivation plays a very central role. Researches have even evidenced that the type of motivation a student has influences how much the student will study as well as the amount of examination pressure he or she feels. With respect to examination stress, there are two types of motivation, namely: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Those students with intrinsic motivation are ordinarily stimulated by the rewards that usually come from the activity itself (Popham 2003, p.7). For instance, this could be the interest in getting to learn how human body functions, the love of playing an instrument of the magic of the working of numbers. If this is the case, increased study or focus at examination period is part and parcel of the interest in that particular subject. Notably, these students have a tendency of attributing their educational results to those internal factors they are capable of controlling and the ones which play an active role in determining the outcomes of the students. Moreover, these students display interest in learning about and having a clear comprehension of specific topics, not merely by putting their reliance on rote learning for an examination (Hardy 2003, p.1). On the other hand, students with extrinsic motivation are inspired by external things. Illustratively, such students may be motivated by a parent, a teacher or a certain objective. In some incidences, rewards such as praise and/or money may act as extrinsic motivators. The most notable thing is that it is quite hard for students enthused by extrinsic factors to stay focussed during examination periods since they may be having less interest in the topic and resultantly end up being lesser motivated. Besides, to these students, revision is a great challenge to them. There are likelihoods of students experiencing high or low test anxieties when preparing for or writing down their examinations. According to various studies, secondary school students with high test anxiety are more predisposed to being preoccupied as well as dissatisfied with themselves. This s likely to cause negative self-talk which is not only distracting, but also interferes with the student’s study performance (Deffenbacher 1980, p.121). As teenagers enter these testing situations- as is the case during examination periods- those with low and high test anxiety over and over again have various body responses including stomach butterflies and clammy hands. Nevertheless, once the examination is on the way, the chances that a majority of these effects disappear are quite high, irrespective of whether the student has low or high test anxiety. Having addressed the issue of exam stress among secondary school students, there is therefore a need to help these students establish effective study and learning habits which will help them lower or even do away with the stress. To begin with, students ought to be encouraged to keep on to a routine of eating regularly, making time to have fun and exercise and going to bed at a reasonable time. Moreover, the students ought to be helped to cut down on the consumption of stimulants such as coffee in case they are taking them. This is because these stimulants are likely to increase the students’ agitation. Instead, a campaign ought to be driven towards drinking lots of water. During meals time, it is also necessary for the students to take their time to eat with no hurry (Sacks 1999, p.65). Moreover, their meals ought to include fresh fruits, grains, veggies, cereals, protein and nuts; since all these are good for blood and brain sugar levels. So as to keep both hydration and blood sugar levels steady, the students have to be encouraged to take a meal each other time they are hungry. Nevertheless, junk food should be avoided as much as possible since it is in the offing of bringing a sudden rise in blood sugar levels followed by a drastic fall leaving the student feeling tired. Nagging should also be avoided as it may subject them to more pressure. Moreover, the same helps in making them stay calm and feel supported. After lengthy hours of concentration, it is imperative for the student to relax before going to bed. Chatting with a friend is encouraged as it helps the students unwind and even have better sleep. Greatest of all, the students should be inspired to visualise success so as to guarantee self-esteem (Sacks 1999, p.76). References Browser, KA 2010, ‘Race to the Top Fund’, The New York Times- Breaking News, World News & Media, web, viewed 7 January 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/info/race-to-the-top-fund/>. Deffenbacher, J 1980, ‘Worry and Emotionality in Test Anxiety’, In I.G. Sarason (Ed.), Test Anxiety: Theory, Research & Application,Hillside, New Jersey: Erlbaum. Elford, GW 2002, Beyond Standardised Testing, Oxford: Scarecrow, Print. 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Sacks, P 1999, Standardised Minds: The High Price of America’s Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change it, Cambridge, MA: Perseus. Read More