{"id":37762,"date":"2021-02-25t10:59:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-25t15:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/?page_id=37762"},"modified":"2021-03-11t19:22:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12t00:22:06","slug":"class-structures-to-minimize-exam-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/science-exams\/class-structures-to-minimize-exam-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"class structures to minimize exam anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

exam value<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0clear expectations<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0student metacognition<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0test anxiety<\/a><\/h3>\n

<\/a>consider modifying exam frequency and weight <\/strong><\/h3>\n

one of the more straightforward options to reduce exam-related stress and anxiety is to have more frequent and smaller point value exams, allowing students more opportunities to succeed in the class. this has been shown to make classes more equitable by reducing the gender gap in cases where exams were 50% or less of the total course grade (cotner et al 2017<\/a>). cotner and colleagues’ study included an analysis of\u00a0 classes where the exams counted for different percentages of the class in separate semesters. in the three classes analyzed, women’s performance on exams<\/em> was depressed in courses where exams comprised a higher percentage of the total class grade.<\/p>\n

\"graph
student exam scores in courses before and after a shift in the percent of course points derived from exams. figure derived from cotner et al., 2017<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

one way to reduce high stakes exams is to give more frequent and smaller assessments. this approach not only has the potential to reduce disparity in the course, it also takes advantage of the\u00a0 the testing effect (also called retrieval practice)–or an increase in learning that occurs upon frequent recall of knowledge (bailey et al 2017<\/a>). the figure below demonstrates two examples of courses that have a high fraction of points from high-stakes exams and two examples that have been transformed to have a lower fraction of\u00a0 points from high-stakes exams. \"figure<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>clarify your expectations\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

a common student complaint is that they are unsure of what material is important in a class, and what depth level they need to answer questions on an exam.<\/p>\n