Will Newman

TSL 633 Testing and Assessment

6/30/15
Article Summary and Reaction for Week 3
Cheng, L., Klinger, D., Fox, J., Doe, C., Jin, Y., & Wu, J. (2014). Motivation and test anxiety in test
performance across three testing contexts: The CAEL, CET, and GEPT. TESOL Quarterly,
48(2), 299-330.
This study deals with the relationship between motivation and test anxiety and how
these factors vary across different contexts. An important question in this article deals with
what students think about a test. All three testing contexts studied involved high-stakes
standardized tests, but displayed different levels of student motivation and anxiety. This was
largely attributed to external factors such as parental expectations and perceived importance of
the test.
That students perceive different tests as being of greater or lesser importance should
come as no shock to teachers. In my classes, I have seen many students approach chapter tests
with low levels of motivation and anxiety, but approach midterm and final exams with high
levels of motivation and anxiety. For me, this is interesting because many times midterm and
final exams are not worth much more than chapter exams. It is not unusual to have a midterm
exam that is worth 10-15 percent of the final grade. It is also not unusual to have chapter tests
that are worth 10-15 percent of the final grade. However, students tend to focus on the word
midterm or final and associate that status with a higher level of importance, even if that
test does not represent a significantly higher portion of their final grade than other tests.

I thought that one of the most important aspects of this article was the discussion of the
way in which different external factors can impact a students levels of anxiety and motivation.
The article states that levels of test anxiety may vary based on the uses and stakes of testing
systems (e.g. admission, placement, immigration) (Cheng et al., 2014, p. 306). In the world of
foreign language testing, a standardized language assessment can be used for many different
purposes. Many students in the United States will be familiar with the testing process required
for university admissions, but may have no experience with standardized tests that determine
outcomes as important as immigration. I would imagine that the anxiety associated with these
sorts of language tests would be immense.
Another interesting finding of this study deals with the relationship between test taker
gender and levels of anxiety and motivation. Interestingly, the study found that male test
takers reported lower levels of motivation and anxiety, along with higher levels of confidence
(p. 322). I found this interesting, but not surprising. Personal experience has led me to note
that males tend to express lower levels of motivation and anxiety in many academic contexts.
Of course, these feelings were self-reported in the study. There is no real way of knowing how
motivated or anxious the male students actually felt. However, this finding does give teachers
greater insight into how students approach testing situations.
In conclusion, I think that this article provided some valuable insights into how students
think about and approach testing. While this article focused primarily on high-stakes
standardized tests, I believe that much of the information could be applied to a normal foreign
or second language class. As teachers, we must understand that external factors, such as
parental expectations can influence our students levels of motivation and anxiety. We must

also pay better attention to how our students view a particular test or testing situation, as it
may impact the way in which they approach the test.