Test Anxiety and High-Stakes Test Performance Between School Settings: Implications for Educators

Abstract

With the enactment of standards-based accountability in education, high-stakes tests have become the dominant method for measuring school effectiveness and student achievement. Schools and educators are under increasing pressure to meet achievement standards. However, there are variables which may interfere with the authentic measurement of student achievement, such as test anxiety. In addition, test anxiety has risen with the use of test-based accountability. This study investigates the prevalence of test anxiety among high school students on a high-stakes test and potential differences on the basis of socioeconomic status. Results indicated significant correlations between anxiety subscales and test performance. Implications for management of anxiety, academic achievement, educational practice, and issues of efficacy are considered.

Keywords:

• accountability
• anxiety
• high-stakes test
• test anxiety

Notes

1. Schools were given pseudonyms for the purposes of this article.