Throughout your education, did you have any peers who excelled in coursework and discussions but struggled during exams? Perhaps that person was you. While quite common, this discrepancy often stems from a combination of high cognitive load and test-related anxiety. These factors can create a vicious cycle harming test-takers’ confidence and performance, particularly in high-stakes environments.
The good news? There are evidence-backed strategies that you and your assessment solution vendor can employ throughout the assessment life cycle to reduce exam stress, improving test performance and the overall testing experience. Let’s examine the factors at play before we discuss strategies for addressing them.
A Vicious Cycle of Cognitive Load and Test Anxiety
Understanding Cognitive Load
Widely influential in educational psychology, cognitive load has to do with the total amount of mental effort being used at any one time by the working memory. Managing cognitive load is critical because a test-taker’s performance can be hindered if the demands on working memory are too high. There are three types of cognitive load:
- Intrinsic load relates to the inherent difficulty of the test content itself. High intrinsic load occurs with complex information that requires significant mental effort to understand and integrate.
- Extraneous load refers to how information or tasks are presented. Poorly designed tests, including confusing instructions or question formats, can unnecessarily increase this load, making it difficult for test-takers to process essential information.
- Germane load involves the cognitive resources dedicated to processing and integrating information into long-term memory.
Contributors to Test Anxiety
When cognitive load increases, anxiety levels rise. This can further impair the test-takers’ ability to process information and perform well. Anxiety typically manifests through physical (e.g., sweating, headaches, nausea), emotional (e.g., feelings of dread, panic), and cognitive symptoms (e.g., racing thoughts, “going blank”). Several factors can contribute to test anxiety. These include the fear of failure, heightened importance attached to certain tests, lack of preparation, previous bad experiences, and concerns about being judged by peers, educators, and family members.
How Assessment Solution Vendors Can Help Manage This Cycle
This cycle of heightened cognitive load and anxiety can make tests seem insurmountable. If the effects of cognitive load and test anxiety are not addressed, the consequences can be significant, including lower test scores, decreased test-taker engagement and success, reduced program credibility, compromised exam validity, and increased stress or mental health challenges among test-takers.
Collaboration among those involved in the testing process is key to identifying strategies that support test-taker success. One type of stakeholder in particular—assessment solution vendors—can be especially valuable. Why? Because vendors who understand the dynamics of cognitive load and test anxiety can offer test design guidance and test delivery experiences that help minimize these issues.
You may be wondering, Isn’t it up to test-takers to manage their own cognitive load? The answer is complex. Yes, test-takers should actively prepare for the topics they’ll be tested on, and they can also adopt various strategies to optimize their cognitive resources, like practicing stress-reduction techniques or improving their study habits. But the responsibility of managing cognitive load extends beyond the test-takers themselves. It also falls on the shoulders of those who own, design, and administer the tests. It’s, therefore, crucial that all parties involved follow best practices to balance the cognitive loads of their test-takers.
“Reducing cognitive load and managing test anxiety are not just educational challenges. They’re essential factors for fair and effective testing. Collaboration among all those involved in the testing process can ensure assessments are true measures of competence rather than tests of stress endurance.”
—Dr. Ashley Norris, SVP of Strategic Growth Initiatives, Meazure Learning
Strategies for Reducing Cognitive Load and Test Anxiety
There are proven strategies that assessment solution vendors can implement—in partnership with professional credentialing programs and educational institutions—to ensure every test-taker has a fair chance to demonstrate their true knowledge. These strategies are grounded in educational psychology and cognitive neuroscience, offering practical ways to remove cognitive barriers and manage anxiety during tests.
Strategy #1: Improve Your Test Design
Vendors with expertise in cognitive load theory can help design assessments that better manage the information and tasks presented to test-takers. Optimal test design aims to minimize extraneous load, manage intrinsic load, and maximize germane load. For example, using clear, concise language and avoiding ambiguous instructions for test-takers to follow can reduce extraneous cognitive load.
“By honing in on the critical skills and knowledge we aim to evaluate, we simplify the test-taking process and alleviate the mental burden on test-takers.”
—Dr. Ashley Norris, SVP of Strategic Growth Initiatives, Meazure Learning
Strategy #2: Prioritize Flexibility and Customization
Every test-taker has a unique way of processing information. A one-size-fits-all testing approach can increase cognitive load for those who have different styles and needs. Professional credentialing programs or higher-ed institutions and their test solution vendors should prioritize flexibility and personalization to address these diverse needs and minimize heightened cognitive load and anxiety.
Here are two common areas where adaptation can lead to a better testing experience:
- Accessibility needs: Test-takers with disabilities may require specific accommodations, such as extended time limits, screen readers, or alternative formats. Without these accommodations, the test-takers face an unfair increase in both intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load. The stress of navigating a non-inclusive testing process can exacerbate anxiety and further impair test-taker performance.
- Exam delivery modalities: Both in-person testing and remote testing introduce variables in the environment that can either alleviate or exacerbate stress and cognitive burdens for test-takers. However, a hybrid approach to exam delivery allows test-takers to choose the environment that best suits their preferences and needs. Opting in to an environment that feels more comfortable can help them focus better on the exam content rather than any external stressors. It also gives them the ability to avoid settings that may trigger anxiety.
Strategy #3: Remove Unknowns From the Testing Process
It’s no surprise that a lot of test anxiety stems from test-taker uncertainty about what exam day will entail. When test-takers are unsure about the logistics of the testing environment, the format of the test, or the types of questions they will encounter, it can lead to unnecessary stress and mental strain. This can consume cognitive resources that would otherwise be used for responding to the exam content.
Solution vendors can work with their clients to help minimize these unknowns. For example, they can provide opportunities for test-takers to check their equipment before remotely proctored exams, ensuring that technical issues don’t contribute additional cognitive load on exam day. They can also help create preparation materials, such as practice tests or demo videos. Some vendors even have platforms or apps that allow test-takers to interact with a simulated exam environment so they’re familiar with the testing interface beforehand.
Strategy #4: Prioritize Two-Way Communication
We cannot overstate the importance of open communication between solution vendors, their clients, and their clients’ test-takers. The effects of inadequate communication on test-takers can be significant. They can lead to misinformation, confusion, and a lack of preparedness—all of which can make cognitive load and test anxiety skyrocket.
At a bare minimum, solution vendors and testing or degree program owners should coordinate to provide the following information to test-takers: test logistics, technical requirements, support channels, accommodation options, and result timeframes. However, it’s not enough to clearly convey to test-takers what they can expect before, during, and after a test. Solution vendors and their clients must also give test-takers the chance to provide feedback about their testing experience. This feedback can lead to continuous improvement in testing strategies and support systems, further reducing negative impacts on test-takers in the future.
Conclusion
The impacts of high cognitive load and test anxiety can be profound, often preventing test-takers from performing to their full potential. But working with assessment solution vendors that have a deep understanding of educational psychology can help break the cycle. As a result, every test-taker can have a fair chance to demonstrate their true knowledge and enjoy a more equitable testing experience.
To learn more about supporting diverse test-taker needs, check out our article “Advancing Equity: The Latest in Testing Accommodations.”