The issue over extreme test anxiety has attracted a lot of media coverage since the situation at the U of M, regarding a doctoral math student and Prof. Gábor Lukács.
Dr. Jay Doering, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Dr. Mark Whitmore, Dean, Faculty of Science released a statement on the U of M website to help clarify the issue. “In this case, the disability was real, and the implication made by certain individuals that the student is not being genuine is both irresponsible and uninformed.”
Under the Manitoba Human Rights code, it is a proven, professionally-diagnosed disability that the U of M, as well as RRC is obligated to accommodate.
Laureen Janzen is the Coordinator of Counseling and Disability Services for RRC and thinks that extreme exam anxiety is misunderstood because people aren’t informed as to what it really is. “People do get nervous when evaluated, that’s a normal thing.”
But there is a difference between normal anxiety and a disabling case, which can result in physical symptoms. “It’s not about being unprepared, it’s about being so anxious that you blank out. Maybe you’re running to the bathroom all the time or have a migraine or are sweating profusely. You can’t focus and make very irresponsible mistakes.”
The type of accommodation a student would receive based on test anxiety at RRC would include additional time of a half hour per hour, with a maximum of 1 hour additional time, and a writing environment that would include a small group of other students.
Not just anybody who gets nervous before an exam can receive accommodations. It varies with every person, and is individually evaluated by a RRC councilor who is trained to determine if a student meets the criteria for disabling exam anxiety.
The maximum amount of time allowed for these accommodations is four months, in which the student has responsibilities, such as meeting with a councilor on a regular basis. During this time the student is given techniques to reduce their anxiety, and depending on the case can be recommended to meet with a psychologist, with the expectation that the student should be able to re join their class and write in a larger test environment within the four month period.
Last year, the U of M's disability services office registered 136 students diagnosed with extreme exam anxiety. At RRC there are currently 39 students that receive exam accommodations based on test anxiety, 17 percent out of a total 221 students who receive accommodations.
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