Emma K. Adam
School of Education and Social Policy
Northwestern University
2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
United States
Tel: 847-467-2010
E-Mail: 
NBER Working Papers and Publications
November 2018 | Testing, Stress, and Performance: How Students Respond Physiologically to High-Stakes Testing
with Jennifer A. Heissel, Jennifer L. Doleac, David N. Figlio, Jonathan Meer: w25305
A potential contributor to socioeconomic disparities in academic performance is the difference in the level of stress experienced by students outside of school. Chronic stress – due to neighborhood violence, poverty, or family instability – can affect how individuals’ bodies respond to stressors in general, including the stress of standardized testing. This, in turn, can affect whether performance on standardized tests is a valid measure of students’ actual ability. We collect data on students’ stress responses using cortisol samples provided by low-income students in New Orleans. We measure how their cortisol patterns change during high-stakes testing weeks relative to baseline weeks. We find that high-stakes testing does affect cortisol responses, and those responses have consequences fo... |
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