Feb
2021
Timed Assessments
I have always dreaded taking assessments.
During high school, in the few minutes leading up to the start of a big exam, I would sit with my clammy palms tightly gripping a pencil, one leg quickly bouncing underneath the desk, and my eyes frantically watching the hands on the clock, waiting for the bell to ring so the test could begin and the internal suffering I have felt for days could finally cease. Even now, taking classes from the comfort of my home, I still feel that terrible panic rising up my throat and controlling all of my senses before I click the blue “Begin Quiz” button on Canvas.
Like many others, one of the main reasons for my extreme test-taking anxiety is the time limit set on certain assessments. 
When an assessment has a set time limit, it adds additional stress to an already stressful and anxiety inducing situation, especially in high stake testing scenarios, such as when a student’s score on an exam that counts for a large portion of their final grade or determines whether or not they will go to a specific school or get a certain license. One recent study found that the average high school student in 2000 had the same anxiety levels as the average psychiatric patient in the 1950s.
Another study from the last few years discovered that the average student had 15 percent more cortisol in their systems before high stake testing than on days with no high-stakes testing. These students typically performed worse on the assessment than they did on in-class exercises and other tests. Cortisol, most commonly known to be affiliated with the 
body’s “fight or flight” instinct, is the body’s main stress hormone. This study, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, also found the opposite, claiming the students whose cortisol levels dropped performed even worse. According to Jennifer Heissel, one of the researchers, “the decrease in cortisol is more a sign that your body is facing an overwhelming task and your body does not want to engage with the test.”
Besides inciting stress, another large issue with the widespread use of timed assessments is that they evaluate students on speed and memorization rather than understanding. For many students, they understand the testing material very well, but need time to read and reread the prompt to fully understand what a multiple choice question, math problem, or essay is asking. These students are then discouraged and penalized with a poor grade when they run out of time and are unable to complete the assessment.
In order to lessen student stress and make exams fair for all types of learners, I believe time restrictions should be taken off assessments.
Stefanie
February 13, 2021 at 5:12 pm (4 years ago)I 100% agree that timed assessments are quite stressful. in those moments, not only am I anxious about finishing on time, but I also seem to doubt myself and how much I studied. While taking the assessment, I am so concerned with the time I have left rather than just focusing on what I know. I don’t think that an assessment that I take in 90 minutes and the number of questions I get right is indicative of how much I trruly know.
eeh5365
February 16, 2021 at 9:53 pm (4 years ago)I completely agree with the viewpoints you expressed in this post! Despite being passionate about my school work and a very dedicated student, I have always been an anxious test-taker, mostly due to the fact that many of these exams, quizzes and essays are timed, leaving little time for thorough comprehension and the degrading one’s ability to carefully craft answers. I think it would be much more valuable to teach students how to meet deadlines set a few days in advance since these types of scenarios are much more common in real-world situations. Not only would students feel less restrained by the timed component of exams, but they could also learn valuable time-management skills.
Annabel Kaufman
February 15, 2021 at 4:03 pm (4 years ago)This is such a great topic to focus on! There have been so many times that I have felt overwhelmed by timed tests because I feel like I would not finish. What do you think would be a good alternative for this? How could students try to adapt to these stressful situations so they do not feel as stressed?
Cecilia Fidler
February 16, 2021 at 4:32 am (4 years ago)As someone who struggles with time limits, I couldn’t agree more. I have some medical issues that prevent me from working and reading as fast as normal people, and I always get incredibly stressed when I have to plan everything out just to complete an assessment within the constraints. Not only does the knowledge become secondary, but the sheer stress makes my condition worse and I struggle even more. What’s even weirder is that people are strangely competitive about time. I remember someone saying to a friend of mine (who got extended, but still constrained time because of a health condition) that she was “a cheater”. Like what? Overall, it just needs to be taken away so that everyone can be put on an even playing field and just focus actually learning!