Bihua Cao

HED 044
Project 3 Case Study Analysis
August 08, 2015

OVERVIEW OF THE SCENARIO

For Katyas case, we know that she is experiencing severe anxiety

before tests. Due to the scholarship, even though she studies
diligently, she still worries her performance in the exam. She is so
anxious that she cannot even focus on her studies. She should believe
that she tries her best on daily academic performance that will take a
big scale of her score or maybe she just needs to keep the average
level of daily performance and then she could get a good final grade.
Furthermore, she needs to realize that even though she is anxious
about it, her anxiety cannot help her any with her exams. Whats more
important, she needs to value and redefine the failure.

YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

To be honest, in China, all our grades will be determined by our final

exams, especially our university entry exam. This university entry
exam is considered to be a turning point for our whole life. Whether we
could go to a good university or not, completely depends on this entry
exam that is held only once a year. The exam is a battlefield for all
students and it is competitive and cruel. Under such education
environment, I think I have a tough heart and can better understanding
the situation, the feelings and thinking of the students in the U.S.

I believe the efforts I make on my study. If I did not put any efforts
on my study, I will not have a higher expectation because I never
believe I am lucky enough to get a correct answer by guess in my
tests. Before tests, what I was thinking is to devote myself into my
studies and to learn as much as I can because I understand that, after I
did my best, I have no control with the outcome. Man proposes, but
god disposes. Thus, my attitude to the outcome is that I did try my
best without regrets and it is my fortune to gain but fate to lose. I
would accept whatever outcome I got. However, generally, the
outcome would be not out of my expectation because I can evaluate
my daily performance correctly. I know at what level I am, especially
that the daily performance takes a scale of the score under the U.S.
education system. In China, all our grades on transcripts are decided
by the final exams.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Marie Brown and Sue Ralph (1999) mentioned, what is needed are
approaches to reduce the negative aspects of stress (distress) that
lessen students' learning and performance. The key to reducing
distress is providing students with a feeling of control over their
education, information about what to expect, and feedback regarding
what can be done to improve their performance. Thus, I think it is
important for Katya to know more about what consist of the grading
scales so that she can control what role the final exams play at her

final grades and how important they are. Katya is a diligent student
and I believe she has done good job in her daily performance.
Secondly, the text mentioned that Katya maintains a 3.0 GPA. I
think this is not bad, but if Katya expects a better grade, I think she
needs to figure out what she needs. She is diligent, but still she has
been stuck on her study. According to Uretsky and Andrews (2013), to
evaluate Specific Needs and examine the general academic support
resources on college campuses can help alleviate anxiety for college
students with learning issues. Thus, I think it is beneficiary for Katya to
meet with her professors, campus tutor or receive assistant in learning
to improve her grade in her daily study. This can help Katya build her
sense of self-efficacy gradually.
In Goffman's (1952) terms, leaving or becoming disengaged from
a particular social position can occur in several ways. Of the various
means, the involuntary loss can be the most damaging to the selfesteem. Fear of failure is one of the major reasons for Katyas exam
anxiety. I think she needs two or three hour timeout to do something
else to transfer her attention first. After she relaxes, I think she needs
to redefine her failure and be more optimistic. She needs to figure out
the minimum scores that she needs to get in her final exam, and then
she will find that it is not that difficult to reach those minimum scores.
She should believe that her daily performance would help her a lot in
her grades.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, in my opinion, overcoming the fear of failure, trying to

do the best in daily performance, figuring out the grading scales,
having appropriate expectation and looking for assistant to improve
learning will help the college students reduce their anxiety toward their
final tests.

Reference
Brown, M., & Ralph, S. (1999). Using the DYSA Programme to Reduce
Stress and Anxiety in First-year University Students. Pastoral Care In
Education, 17(3), 8.
Uretsky, M., & Andrews, D. (2013). Finding the Right Fit: Using the
College Search

Process to Reduce Anxiety for Students with Learning

Disabilities and ADHD. Journal Of College Admission, (221), 46-52.

Goffman, E. (1952). On cooling the mark out: Some aspects of
adaptation to failure.

Psychiatry, 15, 451-463.