ABSTRACT
Test taking and test performance are a central component of the primary, secondary, and collegiate academic cultures in the United States, Europe, and around the world. From the time children enter their local school district until the time they finish schooling, exams are part of the daily fabric of their school experience. Students around the world learn early in their academic careers that to win at school they must be successful in playing the testing game. Many students prevail in mastering the rules and a few even feel comfortable when taking tests:
Compare it to rock climbing. If I feel like if I couldn’t climb the rock or complete the triathlon then maybe I should have prepared better for it. The same is true of a test.… If it is challenging, if I feel like I am being challenged and I am doing well on it, then that makes me—I feel like I am confident.
(Brad, low anxiety) 1