M.Ed. / The writers of the HSRC report on the provision of education in the RSA emphasize the necessity of the introduction of a selection programme which ought to be implemented by every educational authority as standard practice. This study forms part of a team research project of the BUE which deals with some of the factors which may have an influence on the academic achievement of degree-course first-year students in the Rand Afrikaans University. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a connection between the psychometric variable stress and the academic achievement of degree-course first-year teacher trainees and possibly to make an indirect contribution to the development of a selection mechanism for teacher trainees in the RAU should such a mechanism become a reality. At the hand of a study of literature on the subject the psychometric concept of stress was scrutinised specifically with refence to the definition and measuring of the concept and the connection between stress and academic performance. The most important finding was that there is a slight inverse connection between stress and academic achievement - that is low stress is inclined to go hand in hand with better performance and high stress with poorer performance. In the course of the empirical investigation the post hoc approach was followed and use was made of the BUE data bank to supply the necessary information regarding the 1986 and 1987 degree-course first-year students. The statistical technique was used to determine which differences between successful and unsuccessful student groups may be said to be significant, with reference to the various factors of the IPAT stress scale. Although there were no significant differences in respect of the factors, the following did emerge: the stress levels of all the students in the research group may be said to vary between low and average. This points to a normal society. In respect of total stress counts, the following was found: B, A. (Ed, ) students: There are no statistically significant differences between successful and unsuccessful students in respect of conscious, unconscious or total stress. B. Com, (Ed. ) students: The difference between the successful and the unsuccessful student's experience of unconscious stress was found to be statistically significant, respect of conscious or regarded as significant stress was found to be statistically significant but the differences on the total stress cannot be be regarded as significant. B.Sc.(Ed.) students: The difference in successful and unsuccessful students experience of total stress was found to be statistically significant.

The subject of this thesis is test anxiety in Czech secondary school students in perspective of the graduation exam and its influence over their overall academic performance in this exam. Results of a study conducted in the academic year 2017/2018 among 439 graduating secondary school students in six secondary schools in Prague is presented The aim of the study was to verify a test anxiety model based on Lazarus's transactional model of stress, Ellis's cognitive A-B-C model and other subsequent models of different authors (e.g. Hodapp and Rost). The model used in this study thus approaches test anxiety as a form of a stress reaction that consists of three successive steps: (A) activating event in the form of a test situation, (B) cognitive appraisal, and (C) emotional and behavioral consequences part of which is the academic performance. Both steps B and C further consist of a variety of unique components and outcomes. Quantitative data collected with the utilization of an extensive test battery of eight self- evaluating tests, an anamnestic questionnaire and exam results allowed for a further statistical elaboration. Multiple linear regression, Spearman correlation and factor analysis were utilized to reduce total number of variables of the original theoretical model so that it would better and...

The number of standardized achievement tests that students in the United States are required to take has increased significantly during the past decade. Researchers have found that test anxiety is often a problem related to the increase in testing. This correlational study investigated the relationship between anxiety levels of 50 4th grade students and their standardized test scores. Test anxiety questionnaires and pulse rates were used as a measure of the anxiety level of each of the 4th grade students just before the standardized test was administered, and standardized test scores were used as a measure of academic performance. The data were analyzed using 2 separate Pearson correlations. The first determined the relationship between students' responses on a test anxiety questionnaire and their academic test scores; the second correlation determined the relationship between students' pulse rates and their test scores. The results indicated a significant relationship between the students' levels of test anxiety as measured by pulse rate and performance on the New York State Standardized Science test, but no significant relationship between students' levels of anxiety as measured by the questionnaire. The findings of this study are important to school administrators, teachers, and parents because they could illuminate how test anxiety may impair students' academic performance on standardized tests and thereby mask their true abilities. This study has important implications for positive social change by providing research-based findings that could lead to the development of test anxiety prevention strategies at the local site.

Test anxiety can be debilitating to test performance, thus the abilities of test anxious individuals may not be measured accurately. This study examined the efficacy of relaxation training, guided imagery, positive self-talk, and study skills training on anxiety reduction and academic self - esteem in test-anxious , learning disabled high school and college students. A randomized treatment control group design with pretest and post-test measures was used to assess the efficacy of treatment. Participants in the treatment group showed a greater reduction in test anxiety, and improvements in academic self-esteem from pretest to post-test relative to participants in the control group. Implications of the results are discussed.

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The present study examines whether or not a person's anxiety level might be linked to their learning performance. Many studies in the past have examined math and test anxiety, but the present study will examine the effects of death anxiety on learning performance. Individual's anxiety will attempt to be induced through fear of death. Participants were presented a set of four symptoms, similar to Gluck and Bower's 1988 category learning study. The participants were asked whether or not they think the symptoms of the patient are positive for COVID-19 or positive for the flu. The hypothesis was that there would be a negative correlation between death anxiety and learning performance (i.e. participants who score high in death anxiety will score with lower accuracy in the learning task). The signal detection model was used to analyze the data for accuracy levels, the ability to discriminate between categories (d'), and the response bias towards COVID-19 (β). The present study found results to support the hypothesis that high death anxiety caused lower performance levels. Results found that death anxiety is a predictor of classification of bias towards a more serious disease in classification. This bias seems to be unrelated to state anxiety, or STAI scores. The signal detection model indicates a predicted effect on discriminability index, which negatively correlated to pre-experiment death anxiety levels. Additionally, although the predicted response bias showed up in the data, it was not correlated with death anxiety levels. There was also no relation to political affiliation, which was thought to bias beliefs about COVID-19.

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In education, tests are used as indications of students' success or failure. Inferior test performance has been shown to be associated with the debilitating effects of evaluation stress. An educator's task is to provide opportunities for students to enjoy learning experiences that allow for success. Teachers must, therefore, be aware of factors that might impede this process. The purpose of this study was to determine levels of test anxiety (TA) perceived to be experienced by secondary students, as well as the relationship to TA of students' personal characteristics, home environment characteristics, participation in co- and extra-curricular activities, performance on cognitive tests, and curriculum type. The sample used for the third fol1owup of the High School and Beyond (HSB) 1980 Senior Cohort (n=ll,995) was examined for this study. A TA index was constructed using data from three questions from Section 7 of the HSB cognitive test. Results of item analysis and Kuder-Richardson Internal Consistency Reliability Estimate (KR-20) indicated that the index had internal consistency and low to moderate reliability. A second item analysis, using supplemental variables, indicated that the index was valid. Transformation of student responses to TA index items, assigned students TA scores ranging from -13 to +13, with -13 representing the minimum level of TA. Only six (.01%) of the students scored +13, the highest TA level. TA scores for 11% of the students indicated high levels. / Ed. D.