New Study Raises Concerns about Current Test-Taking Requirements

The Institute of HeartMath® and Claremont Graduate University conclude that students’ high levels of anxiety may jeopardize NCLB assessment validity, thereby compromising testing results

(PRWEB) October 31, 2007 -- There’s no doubt that today students are under intense pressure to perform academically, but at what cost? The Institute of HeartMath® (www.heartmath.org) and Claremont Graduate University (www.cgu.edu) released a new study that depicts the high levels of anxiety students are shouldering due to the pressure to excel intellectually. Nearly two-thirds of the high school students who participated in the study reported being affected by test anxiety. The study underscores the detrimental impact of test anxiety on academic performance. Based on their findings, researchers say that students’ high levels of anxiety may jeopardize NCLB assessment validity and could be compromising testing results.

HeartMath researchers explain that feelings of anxiety drive up the level of “noise” or mental static to such a pitch that it overloads the circuits in the brain needed for paying attention, learning, focusing, and remembering.

Dr. Rollin McCraty, lead researcher on the study and director of research for the Institute of HeartMath, says, "When students are anxious about their test performance, their brain doesn’t function efficiently. They can look at a test question and literally not see certain words, become confused, or miss the meaning of a question. They can even miss seeing entire questions on the page."

The primary study looked at nearly one thousand tenth-grade students from two California high schools. The schools were matched as closely as possible on academic performance and key sociodemographic factors. One school was the intervention site where students were taught HeartMath’s TestEdge® program which includes techniques to self-regulate emotions like stress, anxiety, and frustration. The other school served as the control group and used whatever methods they would normally use to prepare students for challenging tests or activities.

TestEdge is based on 16 years of scientific research on the psychophysiology of learning and performance (http://www.heartmath.org/education/testedge/why.php) – how emotions either enhance or inhibit our ability to think clearly, comprehend information, problem solve, and absorb and retain information. The program shows students how to use positive emotions to get in sync and stabilize the brain's electrical activity. This results in "cortical facilitation," which is associated with improved comprehension, memory recall, and the ability to solve problems – all skills required for positive test results.

The study examined whether providing students with the emotional management skills taught in the TestEdge program would enhance their ability to control anxiety. The researchers also sought to establish whether a reduction in the levels of test anxiety and other emotions that block performance would result in a corresponding improvement in academic and test performance.

In addition, researchers aimed to find out if, as a result of student emotion regulation skills, there would also be related improvements in stress management, emotional stability, relationships, and overall student well-being as well as classroom climate, organization, and function.

A secondary study was also conducted to evaluate how well the TestEdge program would be received, coordinated, and administered in a widely diverse variety of school systems across the country.

Pre-intervention results:

The primary study established the magnitude and consequences of stress and test anxiety in a large sample of students:

•    61% of all students reported being affected by test anxiety.

•    26% of students reported frequent high levels of test anxiety.

•    Twice as many females experienced high levels of test anxiety as compared to males.

•    Students with high levels of test anxiety scored, on average, 15 points lower on standardized tests in both Mathematics and English-Language Arts than students with low test anxiety.

Post-intervention results:

After the TestEdge program was delivered to the students at the intervention school site, there was strong, consistent evidence that the intervention had a positive effect on these students when compared with the students in the control school:

•    Of those students at the intervention school who had reported being affected by test anxiety at the beginning of the study, 75% had reduced levels of test anxiety by the end of the study.

•    In four matched-group comparisons, there was a significant increase in test performance in the experimental group over the control group, ranging on average from 10 to 25 points.

•    In two of the matched-group comparisons, the significant increase in test performance was associated with a decrease in test anxiety in the experimental group.

HeartMath researchers say that anxiety inhibits cognitive and physical performance because emotions affect the rhythmic activity in the nervous system. For example, feelings like frustration, anger, and anxiety literally cause the nervous system and the brain to get out of sync, disrupting our ability to think clearly. On the other hand, uplifting feelings such as appreciation lead to increased harmony and synchronization of the brain and nervous system, enhancing our ability to think clearly.

A surprising finding of the Institute's research is the important role the heart plays in determining how "in sync" we are. Dr. McCraty explains: "The heart puts out a powerful, rhythmic signal that the brain responds to. Nerve impulses originating in the heart dramatically affect how we think, perceive, and perform. In a way, you could say that the heart and brain 'talk' to one another – and together they set the rhythms for the entire nervous system and body.”

HeartMath researchers say that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. Dr. McCraty continues, “The signals the heart sends – whether harmonious or chaotic – can make all the difference in our performance. Chaotic activity in the nervous system leads to what is called 'cortical inhibition.' Our reactions are slowed and we cannot think clearly.”

According to HeartMath, the more refined mental processes required on exams – such as abstract reasoning or comprehending the deeper meaning of what is being read – are especially affected.

“What we’ve observed is significant in light of the rigorous testing in our schools,” says Dr. McCraty. “A low score or failing a test doesn’t necessarily indicate the student hasn't learned the material or doesn't know how to think through a problem. It is highly possible that the student hasn't learned how to deal with the anxiety caused by taking tests.”

Experts say there should be concern about current educational strategies that require students to conform to high intellectual standards at an accelerated pace without providing them with the tools and emotional skills required to handle such pressure.

For more information about this study, please visit www.heartmath.org/tendssummary to download an executive summary. The complete 335-page study can be downloaded at http://store.heartmath.org/store/scientific-monographs/Tend-Report.

The Institute of HeartMath (IHM)

Since 1991 IHM (www.heartmath.org) has been dedicated to helping people find balance between their mind and heart in life's activities. Through their education division, they develop, test, and distribute learning programs for use in schools. IHM has conducted research and clinical studies on emotional physiology, heart-brain interactions, and the physiology of learning and performance. Through their research they have demonstrated the critical link between emotions, heart function, and cognitive performance. IHM’s work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals such as American Journal of Cardiology, Stress Medicine, Preventive Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, and Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

Claremont Graduate University (CGU)

CGU is a graduate-level university, founded in 1925. CGU (http://www.cgu.edu) prepares a diverse group of outstanding individuals to assume leadership roles in the worldwide community through research, teaching, and practice in selected fields. Their eight academic schools and one independent department award master's and doctoral degrees in 22 disciplines. They are an independent institution devoted entirely to graduate study.

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