Have standardized tests themselves created a generation of anxious, stressed-out kids, or is it just some kids’ response to stress that is the main problem?
And maybe the answer isn’t less competition, challenge, and evaluation, but more of it. Just not the kind that many kids are experiencing.
A New York Times Magazine cover article just posted today poses all these provocative questions. Written by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, who co-wrote NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, a book that I described in a previous post as one of the best non-parenting books to help raise successful kids, the article is called “Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure and Others Fall Apart.”
The article describes research studies in areas as diverse as pilot training and student test-taking into variations of a single gene called COMT. About half of us have a mix of both variations, but one-quarter possess only the Warrior gene mutation and another quarter carry the Worrier variation. This gene helps to regulate the level of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s planning and decision-making center.
Interestingly, this gene may help to determine whether your body performs better in normal, everyday circumstances — as Worriers do — or during times of stress — as Warriors do.
Warriors may be naturally primed for external threats. In contrast, Worriers may perform worse under stress, despite the fact that they may have higher levels of overall cognitive ability. However, once they are given experience and preparation about how to handle and manage these stressors, they begin to adjust to the stress and do well.
The conclusion of Bronson and Merryman — on the basis of this stress research — is that an optimal level of stress is good for both Warriors and Worriers. Warriors thrive on the rush of competition in all of its forms, whereas Worriers need regular practice in the intensity of stress so that they can learn to adapt to it.
In terms of standardized testing, our educational system, and even parenting in general, I find myself confused about the message that I should take away. I’m often skeptical about using a few brain research studies to generalize about the entire educational process for all learners, but these studies are really interesting and may be a small piece of the puzzle explaining why some kids demonstrate resilience under conditions of chronic stress and others don’t.
Is this research an argument for or against standardized testing? If lots of regular stress is beneficial, how do we go about creating the ideal conditions for learning in order to thrive under conditions of challenge and adversity?
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I think it’s important for kids to learn how to deal with and handle stress. I found this article interesting. I read NurtureShock and I plan to pick up Po Bronson’s new book.
That being said, my oldest child had severe test anxiety. As a result of doing poorly in first grade on a placement test, she was placed in a Basic Skills class. In first grade I felt it was fine, may make her more confident. But in second grade when she was whizzing through homework and doing well, I didn’t see why she needed it and I challenged her teacher and the principal, but was told because of her test scores, she needed the extra help. Then she started calling herself dumb and while she could skip count and do flash cards and spell her spelling words with me at home, she did poorly on tests. It was not until fourth grade that she had the language to tell us how she felt talking tests. The blood was rushing in her brain and she couldn’t think and her heart would pound and her palms would sweat. The school counselor worked with her for relaxation techniques and it seemed to help on the unit tests in class, she did well and was on the honor roll every marking period. The day of the standardized test she woke up screaming that she couldn’t see. I panicked at first and realized she was just nervous. I tried to calm her down and finally called the school and they told me to bring her to guidance. When we got there they told me she needed to be medicated for anxiety. My husband and I decided that we didn’t want our 10 year old on anti-anxiety medication and we made the decision to homeschool. I do worry about how she will handle stress when she gets older, but I am hoping we can build up her confidence enough to help her…although I do see where facing stressors would help as well. I just think it’s a sad state of affairs when 10 year olds need to be on anti-anxiety meds to take a standardized test.
I can definitely relate. By early middle school I was having such test anxiety — hives and rashes — that the pediatrician suggested putting me on anti-anxiety medication. If I had gone to elementary and middle school during this era of constant testing, who knows how well I would have coped? For me, it was just a phase. Kids just have different temperaments and different periods in their lives when they can be really sensitive. Our system just doesn’t seem to account for those individual differences. Sometimes kids probably just need a little respite from this kind of stress, and it seems like kids don’t get much of it today.
I have such mixed feelings about testing. As a child and adolescent, I always performed brilliantly on tests, due to my ability to memorize easily and remember strategies for problem solving. I rarely “panicked” during a test. I’m not certain my daughter will be the same kind of test-taker. She is definitely anxious, and I wonder if she will be more of a “worrier”. At six years old, we have a long road ahead of us to find out, and I can only hope that we are able to find a balance for her strengths and needs.