Annotated Bibliography Holly Miller

Test Anxiety in Elementary

Edwards, J. (January 01, 2009). Physical Activity and Test Anxiety. School Science and
Mathematics, 109, 1, 5-6.

This article pertains to physical activity helping reduce stress and test anxiety in the

classroom. I believe that it is extremely beneficial to allow students time to stretch or

take a moment when presented with a stressful situation such as a test. This study

shows that stress levels are significantly decreased when daily physical activity is

present in a students life. Practicing and modeling a healthy lifestyle and encouraging

students to get active daily would be beneficial for all students. Another important

factor would be to participate daily in a mindful moment, closing their eyes and

engaging in deep breathing exercises. This is proven to calm students and reduce

anxiety in the classroom. I would strongly encourage these practices in my classroom as

well as school wide.

Geist, E. (March 01, 2010). The Anti-Anxiety Curriculum: Combating Math Anxiety in the
Classroom. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 37, 1, 24-31.
It is very common for there to be anxiety in the classroom especially in the math

classroom. It is important to understand that it is not math itself that causes anxieties in

students but the method of teaching. Often, students are influenced by their teachers

who are themselves anxious about math and teaching it. This study shows that
 encouraging students and participating in fun and engaging activities can help reduce

anxieties in the classroom. It is essential that the students support system (teachers

and parents) are positive and supportive throughout learning mathematics because it is

an area of great stress for students. I believe this is true. I recall my teacher telling us he

hated math and hated teaching math, which transferred to most of my classmates and

me. My goal is to create a positive learning environment for my students in all subjects,

including mathematics.

Jameson, M. M. (August 01, 2013). The Development and Validation of the Children's Anxiety in
Math Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 31, 4, 391-395.
This article touches on an important aspect of anxiety in the classroom. Generally,

studies are completed in the high school or university setting, it is rare to find research

based on results from an elementary school classroom. It is important to recognize that

students at the elementary level experience test or school anxieties just like adults. The

concepts may be more advanced than those of an elementary school student but the

pressure and anxiety still exists. For there to be any importance around test anxiety at

the elementary level there needs to be additional research conducted which is not as

simple as it seems. I believe it would be very beneficial for additional research in the

area of elementary and middle school testing/math anxieties so hopefully there is

progress in the years to come.

Park, D., Ramirez, G., & Beilock, S. L. (January 01, 2014). The role of expressive writing in math
anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Applied, 20, 2, 103-11.
This article explicitly defines math anxiety in the classroom. This is extremely useful

when helping students who suffer with anxiety in any subject. This article includes a

study that tested students who suffer with test anxiety. Half of the students were asked

them to write an expressive writing piece concerning their anxieties towards math

before they wrote the test and the other students simply wrote the test. The results

showed that students who participated in writing the expressive piece experienced less

anxiety in the classroom during a test. Perhaps it would be beneficial for teachers to

encourage their students to write an expressive writing piece before their tests, it could

provide students with the opportunity to get out any concerns or fears they have on

paper before completing their test. I would try this in my classroom, math is an area

where many students struggle so I believe it would be beneficial to try.

Yeo, L. S., Goh, V. G., & Liem, G. A. D. (February 01, 2016). School-Based Intervention for Test
Anxiety. Child & Youth Care Forum, 45, 1, 1-17.
This article suggests that students are being exposed to testing earlier and earlier which

has caused the increase in test anxieties in younger students. This article gives an in-

depth definition of test anxiety along with situations and general feelings associated

with test anxiety. The article encourages school communities to work together to

develop strategies or options available to decrease the level of testing anxiety in school.

The article also includes a cross-cultural example of test anxiety in other countries

around the world and the results present in those studies. The study encourages
conferencing with students to allow them to discuss any concepts that require

clarification or any areas that need to be reviewed. Creating a classroom that is

considered a safe space for students is also extremely important, if you allow your

students to trust and confide in you they will be comfortable approaching you if they

are experiencing stress. Allowing students to conference with the teacher showed

reduced levels of anxiety in the classroom. I believe this would be beneficial for teachers

to adopt in all classrooms at any level.