Test Anxiety

Test anxiety, a worried, restless, agitated distress that results from tests of performance or academic ability, affects everyone: from athletes, to students, to executives. Whether it is triggered by an upcoming speech, an impending athletic competition, a test of curriculum mastery, a college entrance exam, or a critical business decision, test anxiety can either enhance performance or hinder it, depending on whether the triggering event requires physical or intellectual performance. Unlike trait anxiety, which causes worry and distress over an extended period of time, test anxiety is a kind of state anxiety and happens only when one is in a specific situation requiring performance or evaluation. Test anxiety has become of particular concern to educators, students, and parents in the United States since the enactment ...