The Use of Test Anxiety Assessment and Anxiety Reduction Training to Predict and Improve Performance of Collegiate Pilot Trainees

Abstract

Written, oral, and practical flight tests, along with challenging flying tasks, place pilot trainees in stressful situations. The initial goals of this research were to determine assessment tools for identifying pilot trainees who might perform poorly in stressful flight testing environments, and measure the efficacy of a test anxiety (TA) workshop on anxiety levels and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge assessments of pilot trainees. The researchers determined that: Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores marginally predict facilitating anxiety levels, and FAA knowledge tests, taken in authentic testing environments, correlate significantly with debilitating anxiety, facilitating anxiety, and FAA exam scores. The researchers recommend continuing longitudinal assessment of freshman flight students that potentially links anxiety and performance on low-risk assessments with these measures on higher-risk practical flight tests. Further study is needed to determine if a more intense anxiety treatment can lower debilitating anxiety, raise facilitating anxiety, or improve performance on FAA exams.