Addressing Test Anxiety in a High-Stakes Environment: ... (ISBN 1412908906)

Strongly recommended for the teacher &/or educator!:
This is a syntopic review of two books with similar topics but diverse approaches: 1. Taking the Anxiety Out of Taking Tests: A Step by Step Guide, by Susan Johnson; 2. Addressing Test Anxiety in High Stakes Environment: Strategies for Classroom & Schools, by Gregory Cizek & Samantha Burg; The first book is written by a pracitising Buddhist & student of Eastern thought. So her book contains, in some areas, seemingly esoteric stuff (or `new agey' as some people may want to call it). Her book is targeted at laymen. The second book is written by two testing specialists, better known in scientific circles as psychometicians.(They love tests!) Naturally, their approach is more methodical & clinical (despite the authors' denial at the onset). Their book is apparently targeted at fellow educators & school professionals. My purpose of acquiring (& reviewing) these two books is to learn more about strategies to tackle test anxiety, as part of my work as a success coach to kids/teens/adults. In the first book, the author has done a marvelous job of gathering the most effective awareness & relaxation techniques (a mixture of cognitive & behavioural) combined with effective study skills into one small paperback volume. The repertoire of techniques offered is very comprehensive. They are described in Chapters 2, 3, 4 & 5. Readers may find some of the techniques to be quite esoteric. The best way is to experiment with them & stick to those that work best for you. In Chapter 6, she describes the process of procrastination. I like the author's opening paragraph in this chapter: "Almost everyone who suffers from test testing anxiety had developed the practice of procrastination into a fine art..." This is a very important chapter. The author continues by showing how the reader can more effectively manage self, set goals, organize priorities, plan strategy & take action to deal with procrastination. In chapter 7, she describes the learning process & memory management. Her treatment of this area is excellent. I concur with her statement that the most important study technique is tracking your thoughts & the key to working though test taking is to develop awareness of your thoughts & physical sensations moment by moment. Her dovetailing of information to suit the student's intents & purposes is marvelous. This particular chapter should be read in conjunction with & by reflecting on the opening chapter 1, as the author talks about working with anxiety & fear. At the end of the book, there is a goldmine of information, but the reader needs to acquire or maybe browse the Further Resources in a public library. What I like about this whole book, on top of an unique distillation of proven techniques, is the author's logically structured exercises for stress management, as well as her step-by-step instructions to combat test anxiety. For the student reader, this is a boon. In the second book, & in line with its intents & purposes set out by the authors, the treatment of the topic is very much broader as well as very much deeper. For a layman, this may seem to be a scholarly piece of work, in which the authors describe: - Testing in a high stakes environment (chapter 1); - What test anxiety is...& isn't (chapter 2); - The effects of text anxiety on students & teachers (chapter 3); - The causes of test anxiety (chapter 4); - The measurement of test anxiety (chapter 5)(YES! there are tests for test anxiety! More details are given by the authors in the companion appendix); In this respect, readers may have to contend with plenty statistical correlations. Only in chapter 6 do the authors outline the tips & strategies for reducing test anxiety. Although the authors start off with a good overview of interventions for test anxiety, their treatment on study & test-taking skills as an intervention strategy is more of a broad-brush, when compared with the first book. Nevertheless, the author's exposition of Thirteen Testing Myths in this chapter is an excellent piece of work. In the eyes of the teacher or educator, I reckon this chapter would be highly rated, as the authors move on to highlight strategies for promoting a healthy (test) assessment environment. In the concluding chapter 7, the authors provide useful checklists of intervention strategies, one for teachers, & one for parents. The Appendix & References pages are a goldmine of useful information for the teacher or educator. What I like about this book, on top of its straightforward explanations, practical suggestions & reasonable recommendations for addressing test anxiety, is the spotlight of key ideas, a total of eighteen, captured in boxed selections, & interspersed throughout the whole book. These help the reader to zero-in quickly on to the essentials. To sum up my syntopic review, I would like to rate both books a 5 each for their respective content strength & reader friendliness. As far I am concerned, I have enjoyed perusing both books. In my view, they also meet the intents & purposes of the respective author - & definitely my expectations as a success coach to kids/teens/adults. I therefore strongly recommend the first book for the student &/or parent (who wants to be a learning facilitator at home); whereas the second book is more appropriate for the teacher or educator.