Conquering Test Writing Anxiety

Reviewed by Judy Rose, Instructor

Conquering Test Writing Anxiety is a manual devoted to helping adult students improve their success in test writing situations. The book is divided into four sections: Understanding and Reducing Your Test Writing Anxiety, Strategies for Learning Test Information, General Test Writing Strategies, and Understanding Types of Tests. Each section includes a number of topics with teacher's notes, exercises and follow-up activities. The same exercises are also available on a computer disc stored inside the back cover of the manual.

Test writing is a difficult topic for many ABE students who are very anxious learners. The author cautions against going too quickly through the material, and she urges instructors to take great care and use sensitivity to achieve the best results. The introduction expands on the barriers to learning created by test anxiety. Instructors should read through this introduction before they begin using the manual.

Some instructors thought the level of reading was better suited to more advanced ABE students. However, they agreed that several of the topics were flexible enough to use with literacy students. The topics would be useful for discussions and as exercises that put some fun into test taking.

This manual is spiral bound, soft covered, standard workbook size. The handout pages are well designed with plenty of white space, large print, and borders. Instructors who teach GED preparation have found the sections on multiple- choice and the essay writing practice particularly valuable for their students. This is an excellent resource because the information is so accessible for a single student, a small group or a whole class.