Children's adrenocortical responses to classroom activities and tests in elementary school

Levels of free-cortisol excreted by second-grade children during two morning hours on regular school days were compared with levels on days that achievement tests were administered. Cortisol excretion was significantly higher on test days than on normal school days but was not related to the children's self-reports of test anxiety. Children who were slightly above average in intelligence and children who were low achievers were found to have elevated cortisol levels. Sixty-eight percent of the variance in free-cortisol excretion was accounted for by the child's popularity with peers, hostility to the teacher, and on-task behaviors. The usefulness of measuring adrenocortisol responses to stress in the classroom was demonstrated.