Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school Research Paper

Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school children in 3rd-5th grades - Research Paper Example This paper is going to give an in-depth analysis of test anxiety and how it can be controlled. The use of standardized testing in the education sector has become ever-present (Cassady, 2010). As significant as examinations are in the life of students, test anxiety among elementary students seems to have been disregarded. The demands for students to perform well in examinations are a reality. The TAKS test produce stress and anxiety on many children resulting to emotional tension. Pressure and demand is placed on students to perform and achieve higher scores in their examinations. This calls for the need of counselors to implement interventions to help reduce stress and anxiety (Putwain and William, 2008). Researchers in the fields of education and psychology have described test anxiety as a relatively stable personality trait. In advanced and critical cases it generates devastating psychological and behavioral responses. Cassady (2010) and Putwain and William (2008) agree that elementary students show signs and symptoms of test anxiety. Test anxiety has many effects on the cognitive abilities, behavior, emotions and health of the child as explained by BNET (2010), Carter et al. (2008) and Cassady (2010). The elementary students can be equipped with tools to enable them to deal with test anxiety as cited by Cassidy et al. (2002), Walsh and Murphy (2003) and Putwain and William (2008). Carter et al. (2008), BNET, (2010) and Cassidy et al. (2010), state that the test anxiety affects the performance of the students. Cassidy et al. (2002) and Lohaus and Klein- Hessling (2003) concur that the children at the elementary level can be taught relaxation tools to handle test anxiety. Students in the elementary level experience tension and apprehension before and during an examination (Cassady, 2010). This state can be described as anxiety which

Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Freedom - Essay Example Thomas, lead character of the story, who is living the life of suffering in Chicago's ghettos until he gets his ticket out of craving to get freedom. Bigger is hampered with a powerful zeal that he has cannot control his life and that he cannot do anything other than working as a labor. The character is very complex and has very low confidence level. The novel may only be compared to the Richard Wright supporting culture, and a very complex in fact a negative picture of the black Americans. Mary’s murder gives Bigger a sense of power and identity he has never known. Which though leads him to death at the end but he struggled hard to overcome all his weakness his poverty. He has a great feeling of freedom too as explained in the novel. â€Å"Bigger has a strong feeling of freedom: "Sort of natural-like, me being here facing that death chair. Now I realize about it, it seems like something like this just had to be. He is then fated to death and faces his destiny impenitently. T hinking of that 'the reason I killed for, I am!' Though in prison, shows a great need for a common brotherhood. This actually shows what Wright really think of freedom. As he considered freedom a term when one can free him from any regret from every sin he has done mistakenly or with conscious mind which leads him to death yet is effective as it will end. The novel shows various annoying characteristics of Thomas. As though he was a very terrified boy from white that he never ever tried to rob the white with his gang as he take white not an individual but as a group. So he was very much terrifying and may be his fear will then end at such violence. Richard Wrights has a very complex definition of freedom. As doing a complete analysis of Thomas it seems that writer is a very deep critic of the society’s cruel attitude and the strange implementation of those rules that support racism. He portrays the character as it is a real discovery of such cruel society. Wright has a clear an idea of freedom and also he discovers many hurdles can be faced by achieving such levels of freedom are not possible until one can sacrifice greatly. Mary, Mr. Dalton’s daughter was a really against this racism so she threaten Thomas to forget about all the taboos and to encourage him she spent full night with his boy friend and Bigger her boy friend Jan desperate to prove their liberal thoughts and racial tolerance against the black Americans. Despite Bigger’s embracement they spent great time with him. This is another way of depicting that this is not possible to get a real freedom. As though the couple is giving Thomas a great opportunity to interact with a class of white people but he acts annoyingly. That shows at any cost bigger does not have the ability to overcome his inferiority complex enforced in him from his childhood that may lead to a strange criminal mind set. Like after that evening they get drunk heavily. And Bigger drove to home. Afterward, Mary is too drunk as she cannot go to her bedroom on her own, so Bigger helps her to get there. Drunk and as he get freedom he started kissing Mary. That depicts what the writer another perception towards the fears and complexes of one man that leads him towards violating all the rules. And act like animal as when he get a little space and a chance he forgot what is right and what is wrong and freely do what his fear asks him to do. This is a way to get freedom but deeply this is not a real freedom actually this is an outcome of all those