High-stakes exams

How do high-stakes exams impact on teenagers’ psychological well-being?

Introduction
Many years ago, lots of states started to develop high school exit programs for improvement
students’ performance (New York State Education Department, 2004, p.2). The movement
towards requirements of high-stakes testing before students graduate from high school is one of
the most outstanding developments in the education policy. However, time showed that those
crucial exams have negative impact on teenagers’ psychological well-being. According to Anna
Barchetti Durisch (2015), in India about 20 students kill themselves every day due to the stress
related to exams. In particular high-stakes ones seem for teenagers to be ordeal which brings
tremendous and negative changes in their lifestyles at the same time. This is the reason why
students often suffer from high-stakes exams.

Such issue is also important in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstani students have to take high-stakes
exams before graduating from school. For instance, in order to enter the Nazarbayev University
which is the most prestigious one in this country, applicants must pass such high-stakes exams as
IELTS, SAT, NET and so on. Exams written above are able to make students to feel stress before
passing them (Study points, n.d., para 1).

The problem is relevant. These days, suicide and dropout rate among teenagers is increasing
because of high-stakes exams. For instance, about one-third of U.S. college students had difficulty
functioning in the last 12 months due to depression, and almost half said they felt overwhelming
anxiety in the last year (Novotney, 2014). Therefore, it is necessary to investigate this issue for the
whole society.

There are certain reasons why I decided to explore this topic. Me and my classmates are
going to take an IELTS, pass SAT in order to enter the Nazarbayev University. I noticed that
some of my classmates are stressed and got some problems with their psychology because of
anxiety. So, I see it as the motivation factor which is quite available to state. After finding
answers for research questions and defining specific list of impacts of high-stakes exams, I want
to write a book about it and by this way motivate teenagers and help them to pass the exams.

Aims
The purpose of the research project was to explore how high-stakes exams impact on
teenagers’ psychological well-being.

The following research questions helped to concretize the purpose:

 ● What do teenagers feel during the preparing process for high-stakes exams?
● How do students lose their motivation knowing about an importance of exams?
● Are teenagers able to cope with their pressures before passing an exam?
● Is there a relationship between high-stakes exams and teenagers’ decision to commit
suicide?
The aim was to find out whether standardized testings impact negatively on teenagers and how
crucial exams make students suicidal. Besides, it was important to learn about the attitudes and
motivation of teenagers who are going to pass high-stakes exams by defining some statistics and
dropout rates.

As the outcomes I saw the teenagers’ exact attitudes and motivation, also, justification of
negative effects of high-stakes exams on students’ well-being in terms of their psychology. The
results of this research project will help to educate teenagers about the ways to cope with stress
during exams and find better ways to prepare for high-stakes exams.

Methods
In order to get an accurate and reliable data on the chosen topic, research design consisted
of different methods. The thing is that not all available data is taken from credible source. By this
way we can reduce a bias and some inaccuracies. In addition, different methods were used to
strengthen the quality of the research.
Firstly, we made a secondary research to have a general view about the problem. There
were number of sources which contained a big amount of information on my topic. However, it
was difficult to say that all of them are taken from trustworthy sources. Besides, considering the
fact that some sources had an extra data, it was important to sort all those sources and check their
credibility through the use of RAVEN criteria.
It was obvious that the quantitative research method is a good choice for this research.
Because research was going to have information about the impact of high-stakes exams on
teenagers’ psychological well-being rather than numerical data on this topic.
As for the primary research, we saw the survey as the only method for finding the
opinions of teenagers who were going to pass high-stakes exams.
The interviews targeted towards 10 and 11 grade students of Nazarbayev Intellectual School in
Aktobe. The reasons why exactly those students were chosen to participate in the research work
were following:
● 11 grade students of Nazarbayev Intellectual school are going to take an IELTS
and pass SAT, Cambridge exams which are considered to be high-stakes;
● They are accessible and easy to connect with them.
11 grade students made up a sample size which is 100. The questions were open-ended and they
were about the impact of high-stakes exams on them, their feelings before passing the exam and
the way of preparation for high-stakes testing. Margin of error is 5%.

It is apparent that there are certain limitations which can decrease the level of the reliability of
methods. Particularly, the obtained data from the answers of students can be not so relevant, as
11 grade students of NIS Aktobe have big workload apart from high-stakes exams that make
them feel stressed and psychologically vulnerable.

But still, findings will be enough to answer the main research questions about how high-stakes
exams impact on teenagers’ psychological well-being.

Context
High-stakes testings are exams outcomes of what are used to make crucial, even tremendous
and life-altering decisions. They are used for accountability, for instance, government agencies
or administrators of school hold high-stakes exams to ensure whether school and study
programme are effective (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2014, para 1). Besides, the results
of high-stakes exams are very important for students in order to enter colleges and universities.
However, there is a negative impact of high-stakes exams on teenagers’ psychological well-
being. According to The National Center for Fair and Open Testing (2007),”Research has shown
that high-stakes testing causes damage to individual students and education. It is not a reasonable
method for improving schools” (para 3). Therefore, it is necessary to figure out all negative
influences of high-stakes exams and find out the proper way of preparing for those testings.
Such impacts reflected on the Kazakhstani students too. Prosecutor General’s Office has
provided data on quantity of cases of suicides during United National testing (UNT, high-stakes
exam). So, 4 cases of a suicide have been recorded in 2015 in the country (Tengrinews, 2015,
para 4). This is the reason why the impact of high-stakes exams on students’ psychological well-
being is the evident issue that needs specialists’ attention and some actions to be taken.
There are number of perspectives different from each other. First perspective is presented by
students who are suffering from high-stakes exams, because they feel negative impacts of those
exams on themselves. Moreover, they do not understand why high-stakes exams must be
mandatory at schools.
A student, Amber Kudla, vented her anger at the overuse of standardized testing and its
ultimate usefulness as part of her high-school valedictory address: As for the argument
that the assessments are challenging our students more, sure that’s true. It’s a challenge to
fit the same amount of material into one year with more exams. It’s a challenge to
memorize loads of facts in time for the next test. It’s also a challenge to eat a teaspoon of
 cinnamon in one bite without choking but what are you really accomplishing?(Spann,
2015, p.13).
The second is teachers’ points of view who usually try to prepare students for high-stakes
exams. They claim that it is difficult to prepare students for difficult exams. According to
Cunningham and Sanzo (2002), “high-stakes testing impacts negatively on creative and effective
teachers, leading to cramming for tests rather than instruction” (as cited in Polesel et al., 2012).
Therefore, the lessons are losing creativity and fascinating features which students usually enjoy.
The third is parents’ perspective. Some parents do not deny that high-stakes exams changed
their life in the bad party. According to WDSU News (2011), Katie Jones whose grandson
committed suicide because of SIT test claimed that she suffered from the negative consequences
of high-stakes exams.
The main ideas of the perspectives written above are almost the same. So, there is a real
problem and whole society must contend in order to tackle this issue. High-stakes testings are
not able to improve education and motivate students. “A thorough summary of research on
education and motivation by a British team found that constant testing motivates only some
students and increases the achievement gap between higher and lower achieving students”(The
National Center for Fair and Open Testing, n.d., para 12). As stated in The National Center for
Fair and Open Testing (2007), the main causes of high-stakes exams are:
►An increase of grade retention
►An increase of dropout rate among students
►A production of teaching to the test
►Driving out good teachers
►An increase of suicide among teenagers
►Psychological problems of students
“For students, the exams cause them not to want to go to school. Some students hear about
tests they will have to take when they are older and as a result, they worry at a young age about
them” (Spann, 2015, p. 12). As reported by Spann (2015), the reasons for why high-stakes exams
lead to many negative impacts on students are following:
► Students see exams as an obstacle for their success
►Exams curtail their motivation to perform well
►Test-preparation materials do not allow them define what is important
Furthermore, through the use of this research it will be possible to answer research questions
from the aims section and find out new methods that can be useful in order to help students to
cope with their pressure and overcome the negative impacts of high-stakes exams.
Results
The survey was conducted among 11 grade students of NIS Aktobe. It was quite valuable;
besides, relevant information was obtained by 100 people.

To sum up, the main findings were that the majority of students, who are preparing for high-
stakes exams, do not deny that those exams negatively impact on their psychological well-being.

The results from the questionnaire were very useful. The analysis of data for each question is set
out in Appendix. The main findings from the questionnaire can be summarized as:

● The data from Question 1 which was about an estimation of students’ level of preparation
for upcoming high-stakes exams shows that 69 per cent of respondents are preparing for
exams at medium level. 21 per cent of respondents showed that their level of readiness is
much higher than medium. Only 10 people consider that they are preparing normally
which is lower than the medium. There was no one who answered that they are not
preparing.
● It was obvious that high-stakes exams impact negatively on teenagers’ psychological
well-being. The answers obtained by respondents corresponded to expected ones. The
majority of students did not hide the fact that high-stakes exams affect their psychology.
Only about 4 per cent of students deny the negative impact of crucial exams.
● A significant proportion, over 75 per cent of the respondents answered that they often
concern about upcoming exams. Just under a quarter of them worry about exams, but
seldom. Roughly, 5 per cent of respondents concern about high-stakes testing too much.
Fortunately, just 2 people thought about committing suicide thinking about exam failure.
● About quarter of respondents lose their motivation while preparing for crucial exams
thinking that they are banging their head against a brick wall. Surprisingly, high
proportion of students is motivated very well. Those who tend to lose their motivation
they gain it again by listening to music, playing games, reading and watching a movie.
Also, more than half of students often watch a movie in order to cope with the pressure
and overcome their stress. One student sees talking to his mother as the best solution in
such breaking moments. About 30 per cent of respondents prefer to train in order to get
rid of their stress.
● The data from Question 8 shows that approximately 90 per cent of respondents believe
that the best way to prepare for exams well is keeping in practice. Small percentage of
students proposes to read informative articles about exams to other students.
Finally, the survey revealed that students who are going to pass high-stakes exams are not
preparing in a proper way, although they have an idea how to prepare. Almost all interviewees
do not disagree with the fact that high-stakes exams impact negatively on teenagers’
psychological well-being. That means high-stakes exams are able to bring a problem to teenagers
and that is a problem. Main part of respondents often worries about testing and feel stressed
thinking about an exam failure. Even 2 students thought about committing suicide. It is because
of lack of motivation. It is necessary to motivate overwhelmed students. It has been seen that
most of students believe that practice is the key of good result. Therefore, it is necessary to offer
them exact way of preparation including the practice.

The conducted survey is essential, as questions from survey correspond to main questions from
the aims part. So, the opinions and views of 11 grade students of NIS Aktobe answered the
research question.

Conclusion

It is possible to make conclusion by answering following research questions:

 What do teenagers feel during the preparing process for high-stakes exams?
The majority of people in the research often concern about upcoming exams. About 75 per cent
of students feel stressed during the preparing process thinking about an exam failure. Moreover,
almost all 11 grade students of NIS Aktobe agree with that high-stakes exams impact negatively
on teenagers’ psychological well-being. However the research was conducted among NIS
students who are preparing not only for IELTS, but also for Cambridge exams, National testing
and SAT. Therefore, their stress can be connected with other high-stakes exams written above
apart from IELTS. This may not be true for all teenagers.

 How do students lose their motivation knowing about an importance of exams?

The significant proportion of students lose their motivation by thinking that they are banging
their head against a brick wall. Teenagers actually know how to prepare, but they still lose their
motivation. Despite that level of students’ preparation is medium, most of students claim that the
negative effect of high-stakes exams in terms of psychology lead to lose their motivation.

 Are teenagers able to cope with their pressures before passing an exam?
Teenagers often lose their motivation, however they are able to cope with the pressure and
overcome their psychological problems. It was revealed in primary research that the majority of
teenagers prefer to listen to music and watch a film in such breaking moments written above.
Besides, they know how to prepare for high-stakes exams.

 Is there a relationship between high-stakes exams and teenagers’ decision to commit

suicide?
Unfortunately, there is a relationship between high-stakes exams and teenagers’ decision to
commit suicide. It was seen in the primary research that 2 students thought about committing
suicide thinking about an exam failure. In turn, it shows how high-stakes exams can be negative
affecting teenagers’ psychology.

As a result of this research it is possible to conclude that high-stakes exams impact negatively on
teenagers’ psychological well-being. Such crucial testings are able to make teenagers stressed
and vulnerable.
The research also shows that students know how to prepare, but often lose their motivation. So, it
is necessary to motivate them and show ways of gaining it.

Evaluation

To generalise, all research questions are answered and fully described, results are completed.

All sources for background research are trustworthy and credible. So, data included in them are
also reliable. For instance, data from such reliable organizations as The National Center for Fair
and Open Testing Prosecutor General’s Office is used in the research providing the accuracy of
background information. However, there are some organizations which have a vested interest, so
they tried to make a hype prompting a big attention of people to them by providing information
about how high-stakes exams negatively impact on teenagers’ psychological well-being leading
to incredible increase of committing suicides.

It is possible to make certain conclusions from questionnaire. Moreover, obtained data and
results from survey can refer with some confidence to all teenagers who are considered to be
sampled population. The small sample from 11 grade students of NIS Aktobe supports this
claim, but still the research is not reliable and representative for all teenagers. The results will be
all the same, if the sample is much bigger. But, it is not possible to generalize conclusion for
adults, because they are not included in the sample.

My point of view has not changed, because it was obvious that high-stakes exams impact on
teenagers’ psychology in a negative way which corresponds to the research results. Furthermore,
the obtained data from primary and secondary researches can be justification for my view. It
must be mentioned that during the research some surprising facts became known that there are
two students among 11 grade students who had thought about committing suicide worrying
about an exam failure and all students know about how to prepare for high-stakes exams, but still
have a problem with preparation.

Results were accurate. However, it is possible to enhance them by increasing the number of
respondents in order to make results more reliable. Also, it is quite necessary to take an interview
from students as an extra method of primary research in order to confidently generalise the
obtained data. Overall, introduction of the problem in background information from secondary
research has been developed by primary research findings. Therefore, conclusion of the whole
research is worth to be dependable and applicable.

Further research

During the research some questions were fascinating and it was necessary to answer them in the
future.
It would be useful to conduct the same survey among teenagers of other schools and compare the
obtained data with the answers of 11 grade students of NIS Aktobe. As burden and workload of
NIS students is more than that of other schools, answers of other school students might be
different and distinctive from NIS students’ respond.
In order to get rid of overgeneralization, the primary research could be enhanced by adding an
interview taken from psychologists, because their perspectives might be different by comparison
with students’ view on teenagers’ psychological well-being. It is important for improvement of
the research, because psychologists’ opinion about psychology is always significant.
It was worth to consider the other factors that impact on teenagers’ psychological well-being in a
negative way and ask students to estimate the level of effect of each of them. By analyzing the
factors, it was possible to make a certain list of factors written by order in terms of levels of
impact. That would be helpful to clarify the conclusion and exactly understand how high-stakes
exams impact negatively on teenagers’ psychological well-being.

It might be useful to improve the research by conducting a case study only about a connection
between decision to commit suicide and a high-stakes exams as two respondents answered that
they thought about committing suicide concerning about an exam failure. Suicide is considered
to be the worst consequence of the psychological impact, therefore it is important to explore it
more.
References

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http://www.fairtest.org/dangerous-consequences-highstakes-standardized-tes

WDSU News. (2011, July 5). Teenager Commits Suicide Due To High Stakes Test Scores.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IAPS8ImSrw