Test anxiety and beliefs about testing in college students with and without learning disabilities.

181 Pages·2017·9.59 MB·English

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Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014
1-1-2000
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Seth A. Stevens
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Stevens, Seth A., "Test anxiety and beliefs about testing in college students with and without learning
disabilities." (2000). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 1277.
https://doi.org/10.7275/61f5-y146 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1277
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TEST ANXIETY AND BELIEFS ABOUT TESTING IN COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH
WITHOUT LEARNING DISABILITIES
A
Dissertation Presented
by
SETH A. STEVENS
Submitted to the Graduate School ofthe
University ofMassachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
ofthe requirements ofthe degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
May 2000
Counseling Psychology
©
Copyright by Seth A. Stevens 2000
All Rights Reserved
TEST ANXIETY AND BELIEFS ABOUT TESTING IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
WITHOUT LEARNING
DISABILITIES
A
Dissertation presented
by
SETH A. STEVENS
Approved as to style and content by:
Member
Patricia Silver,
Carole R. Beal, Menjbe;^
y Jackson, Dean
tion
To
My
Parents
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2014
in
https://archive.org/details/testanxietybelieOOstev
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following individuals and groups who made this research possible, and
who helped me through the process ofcompleting
it:
The students, staff, and my fellow case managers at Learning Disabilities Support services; the
student volunteers who took the time to participate in the study; my dissertation committee members, for
all oftheir support and advice; my mother for her encouragement and many dinners; and Ron, for "doing
everything."
V
ABSTRACT
TEST ANXIETY AND BELIEFS ABOUT TESTING IN COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH AND
WITHOUT LEARNING
DISABILITIES
MAY
2000
SETH A. STEVENS, B.A., WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
M.A, SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY
Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
Directed by Professor William Matthews
: J.
Differences in beliefs about, reactions to, and perceived control over testing between learning disabled and
non learning disabled students at the postsecondary level were investigated. Additionally, the effect of
the use ofsupport services by students with LD on their beliefs about and reactions to testing was also
investigated. Students with and without LD were given published measures oftest anxiety and academic
locus ofcontrol, as well as survey questionnaires/scales created for the study. Additional information on
LD
students' with diagnoses and use ofsupport services was gathered from archival data. Results
LD
indicated that students with reported significantly higher levels oftest anxiety, particularly test
irrelevant thinking, than their non-LD peers. Students with and without LD also differed significantly in
their anxiety ratings ofparticular evaluation conditions, academic subject areas, and modifications to the
testing environment. An external academic locus ofcontrol was found to be related significantly to higher
test anxiety for all students. For students with LD, use ofsupport services was not related to lest anxiety.
High levels oftest anxiety were found to be related to reported avoidance oftesting intensive courses and
subject areas for all students. Females consistently scored significantly higher than males on all
generalized measures ofanxiety. Findings suggest that test anxiety is a phenomenon that varies both
quantitatively and qualitatively as a function of individual differences in academic history, areas of
academic strength and need, and as a function ofspecific aspects ofthe test situation (e.g., subject area
testing is being conducted in, presence ofdistractions); in addition to its well documented negative effects
on test performance, test anxiety may also have long term effects on academic and career choices.
Support services appear to be perceived as useful by anxious students, however, utilization of such services
vi
does not appear to mitigate generalized test anxiety, though use ofsuch services is related to higher CPA.
Based on study findings, a variety ofpossible modifications to the testing environment and to classroom
grading procedures at the postsecondary level are suggested.
vii
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
^
ABSTRACT
VI
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
^^i^
Chapter
INTRODUCTION
1
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. 3
The Concept ofTest Anxiety
3
Definition and Brief History ofthe Construct 3
Components ofTest Anxiety
3
Effects ofTest Anxiety on Memory and Cognition 5
Effects ofAnxiety on Academic Tests and Performance 6
Effects ofTest Anxiety on Test-Taking Behaviors and Related Cognitions 7
Theoretical Models ofhow Test Anxiety Operates 8
Conclusion - General Concept ofTest Anxiety
1
Group and Individual Differences in Test Anxiety 11
Gender
1
Cultural/Ethnic Differences 12
Ability 14
At-Risk Students 14
Age/Grade Level 15
Students with Learning Disabilities 15
Differences in Classroom Personality Measures 18
Self-Concept Variables, Success/Failure Attributions, and Learned Helplessness 18
Conclusion - Group and Individual Differences 20
Environmental Variables Contributing to Test Anxiety 20
Curriculum 21
22
Test Construction Factors
22
Types ofQuestions
Computer and SelfAdaptive Testing and Perceived Control 23
Presence of Defects on Tests 25
Constructing Tests for Students with Disabilities 25
26
General Testing Parameters and Conditions
Take Home and Open Book Conditions 26
27
Untimed Testing
viii