Effect of Sequencing of Items and Test Anxiety on Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

The sequencing of items and test anxiety on students’ performance on multiple-choice tests was investigated. Data was collected from 105 students from the College of Education for the study. A quasi-experimental design was used and 50-test item questions were used for data collection. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance, independent t-test, and Two-way ANOVA were used. The results show that there was an effect of item sequencing on student performance. Moreover, test anxiety affected student performance. Furthermore, the result found that there was an interaction between the sequencing of items and test anxiety on student performance. The study, therefore, recommended that tutors in Colleges of Education should use Easy to Hard item order. The study further recommended that tutors should encourage students to develop appropriate learning habits that will minimize their anxiety when taking tests. Finally, the study recommended that Colleges should organize seminars for tutors on how to manage students’ anxiety. Scholars Middle East Publishers