| This quantitative study investigated the relationship between performance on the MontCAS Criterion Referenced Test of 10th graders at Corvallis High School, Corvallis, Montana who participated in a systematic program for test anxiety reduction, and 10th graders who took the MontCAS but did not participate in the test anxiety reduction program. The population included all 10th graders at Corvallis High School who failed to achieve a score of proficient or higher, or who achieved in the low-proficient range on either the reading or math section on the last MontCAS administration, which was two years prior to this study. Fifteen students were assigned to each the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was exposed to a four hour test anxiety group protocol. The control group received no intervention prior to the test. The intervention design was based on results of meta-analyses of test anxiety research identifying effective treatment approaches. Overall in this study, the test anxiety program did not produce significantly improved test performance among experimental group members as compared to the control group, although some possible trends were noted. Some potential reasons for this lack of significance, including the small sample size, are discussed, as well as recommendations for further research in this important area. |
