RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers

Patricia M. Saenz
Bad Test Takers
The University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301
Paul LaPrade
November 25 2016

RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers

Bad Test Takers
A wide ranged variety of diverse students, claim to lack successful and effective
academic test taking skills. Some simply say Im a horrible test taker while others remain in
silence and rather not expose any personal academic testing performances. As dangerous as
standardize testing sounds for any student pursuing a short or long carrier, students need to

become better at accommodating testing habits. Standardize testings come a long way, they will
never stop appearing in elementary schools, middles schools, high schools, and universities! On
the other hand, it is proven by national scientists, that there is no such thing as bad test takers.
Leading factors to a controversy world of poor testing skills tend to mainly be caused by high
levels of anxiety, non-sufficient studying, and different pressures on performing a demanding
score for a particular qualification. It is important for students to understand the value of worth
upon academic testing; tests might not officially prove what ones intelligent and creative mind
retains, yet tests till this day will mark a level of performance on certain criterias. That is why it
is important for students to simply become better at understanding the causes behind a poor test
taker, because in reality there is no such thing as bad test takers!
Today educational fields are expanding precise opportunities for all driven students that
accept the academic challenge. Along the way, uneasy yet long lasting learning years of
experience are included. In those long lasting learning years tasks and tests become an essential
key within a students academic performance. Meanwhile, some students label themselves as
poor test takers when in reality health stands underneath that particular concern. According to
a study done by scholar Dzhebrailova, students with low[er] level of initial personal anxiety
(Dzhebrailova, 2012, p. 627) tend to control their heart rates better than students with a higher
level of personal anxiety. When it comes to testing, anxiety is a main factor that contributes on

RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers

determining how well a student is going to perform on a test or how bad the student will do.
According to the study, students with a higher level of personal anxiety, due to the difficultness
of the student being able to control their heart rate, the student performs poorly. After
contributing anxiety towards performance skills on a test, students fail to be inconsiderate as a
bad test taker. It is not the students knowledge that provokes the student to not be able to fully
concentrate on tests and perform well, rather it is their anxiety levels.
Another simple and valuable matter to take into consideration for the leading causes of
bad test takers, is the lack of studying on and for correct occasions. Students may tend to not
stress enough effort on their given studying time, often known as procrastination. Not only
insufficient studying time effects testing skills, but the incorrect emphasis on attempting to aim a
particular score effects testing outcome. As if getting an automatic perfect score were a genetic
blessing (Act for bad test takers, 2015, p.1) for all aged students. Logically with insufficient
effort on studying, preparation, and pondering towards the material needed to have positive turn
out on tests, becomes an impossible mission to accomplish for a student performing a test. Easily
one can decide to study in depth or leave studying for last minute since there are other important
activities to focus on, during ones educational lifestyle. According to a study conducted by
Robert Lowinger and other researchers, based on foreign students that entered America to study,
a strong percentage of 32.7 procrastinated on academic tasks (Lowinger. 2016, pp 96.)
Meaning that even students that study outside their city homes, procrastinate on academic tasks
due to caused stressed on particular areas of their student lifestyle. Now how high could the
percentage of procrastination be for students that study in their hometown? That is why avoiding
procrastination and spending more worthy time on academic activity will also better test taking
performances.

RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers

Furthermore, all sorts of students will disagree with the inexistence of bad test takers.
There will be students that say the more I study, the more I will get nervous during testing or I
will never be able to control my anxieties. Again, the simple solution is to accommodate
positive confidence in oneself skills, before testing occasions. The less a student feels anxious
towards an exam, the better outcome on controlled heart rates will occur. The less
procrastination, the less stress. The greater invested and experienced time on focused material
that will be viewed on specific exams, the better the outcome of the test will be. In the, end bad
test takers end up sounding as if it were a portrayed myth in a students mind. After many
national researched conducted studies by different scientist, particularly on behavior, there is no
such thing as poor or bad test takers. It is simply a matter that can become fixed upon ones
will.
Despite the many different reasons in which students want to believe as blameful
thoughts for being a bad test taker, there really is no valid reason to do so. However, there are
many scientific proven leading background causes in which make one shine as a poor test
taker. The main leading causes being high and uncontrolled anxiety levels, lack of studying and
preparation for a particular testing material, and finally fearful feelings about failure on a test.
Academic and standardize testing is an activity that will forever appear in a students educational
pathway, that is why it is important to understand the necessity to overcome obstacles that dont
let one succeed as a student. A state of mind being confident, remains as a shield needed to
protect ones mentality from being a poor test taker. Not only the value and worth of testing
needs to be taken into consideration, but also the value and worth of ones capabilities and
potential to perform within a test. The worthiness and potential capabilities that serves an
opportunity to shine and demonstrate tests are what one can best prove wrong!

RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers

References
Brideau, M. Can people be bad test takers? Penn State, 10 September 2015, p.1.
Dzhebrailova, T. Dynamics of Heart Rate Parameters in Students with Various Personal
Anxiety Levels during Computerized Testing. Bulletin of Experimental of Biology and
Medicine, vol.153, no. 5, September 2012, pp. 627-630.
Jayakumar, D. Stress Symptoms: Structural Equation Modelling. SCMS Journal of Indian
Management, vol. 10, no.3, Jul-September 2013, pp. 95-109
Lowinger, R. Predictors of Academic Procrastination in Asian International College Students.

Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, vol.53, no.1, 17 February 2016, pp. 90104.
Maniling, H. A Study on Test Anxiety of Students. Indian Streams Research Journal. no. 5.4,
May 2015, pp. 3-9.
Morris, L. Test Anxiety (Worry and Emotionally) Changes During Academic Testing as a
Function of Feedback and Test Importance Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 68,
no. 6, 1976, pp.817-824.
Why Bad Test Takers. The ACT for Bad test takers. 2015

RUNNING HEAD: Bad Test Takers