Reducing test anxiety while increasing learning: the cheat sheet.

Abstract. Student learning is greatly enhanced by studying prior to an exam. Allowing students to prepare a cheat sheet for the exam helps structure this study time and deepens learning. The crib sheet is well defined: one double-sided page of notes. An award for the best and most creative cheat sheet allows the instructor to appreciate the students' efforts. Using the cheat sheet also reduces student anxiety during testing.

Keywords: assessment, cheat sheet, student anxiety

**********

A cheat sheet is defined as "a piece of paper on which one has answers or notes for a test, used to cheat on or prepare for a test: also called crib sheet, crib." (1) I have found that one kind of "cheating" in the classroom can both increase student learning and reduce test anxiety.

Many of the courses I have taught dealt with subjects that students found difficult and for which they often were not well prepared: statistics, research methods, methods of teaching mathematics, and computer use in education. One of my goals at the beginning of each class was to reduce student anxiety, as high levels of anxiety interfere with learning.

These particular types of courses require all levels of learning in Bloom's taxonomy (1956), and particularly the first three levels: a certain amount of rote learning of facts and formulas: the understanding of the principles behind these facts: and application to real-life situations. Much of the students' anxiety in these courses centers on the actual mathematics and formulas, the lowest level of learning in this taxonomy. This information is also the easiest to find in a real-life problem-solving situation. One of my efforts in these classes focused on administering tests that assessed students' abilities to understand and apply what they had learned while providing them with basic information that is reasonably accessed when needed. I changed the format of the exam to maximize learning and reduce test anxiety and fear; this approach tends to enhance student performance, particularly for students who are well prepared. Knowledge does not exist if it does not surface even under optimal conditions (Tests and Stress 2005).

Functions and Types of Tests