Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school Research Paper

Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school children in 3rd-5th grades - Research Paper Example This paper is going to give an in-depth analysis of test anxiety and how it can be controlled. The use of standardized testing in the education sector has become ever-present (Cassady, 2010). As significant as examinations are in the life of students, test anxiety among elementary students seems to have been disregarded. The demands for students to perform well in examinations are a reality. The TAKS test produce stress and anxiety on many children resulting to emotional tension. Pressure and demand is placed on students to perform and achieve higher scores in their examinations. This calls for the need of counselors to implement interventions to help reduce stress and anxiety (Putwain and William, 2008). Researchers in the fields of education and psychology have described test anxiety as a relatively stable personality trait. In advanced and critical cases it generates devastating psychological and behavioral responses. Cassady (2010) and Putwain and William (2008) agree that elementary students show signs and symptoms of test anxiety. Test anxiety has many effects on the cognitive abilities, behavior, emotions and health of the child as explained by BNET (2010), Carter et al. (2008) and Cassady (2010). The elementary students can be equipped with tools to enable them to deal with test anxiety as cited by Cassidy et al. (2002), Walsh and Murphy (2003) and Putwain and William (2008). Carter et al. (2008), BNET, (2010) and Cassidy et al. (2010), state that the test anxiety affects the performance of the students. Cassidy et al. (2002) and Lohaus and Klein- Hessling (2003) concur that the children at the elementary level can be taught relaxation tools to handle test anxiety. Students in the elementary level experience tension and apprehension before and during an examination (Cassady, 2010). This state can be described as anxiety which