Abstract

The inverse relationship between test anxiety and test performance is commonly explained by test-anxious students’ tendency to worry about a test and the consequences of failing. However, other cognitive facets of test anxiety have been identified that could account for this link, including interference by test-irrelevant thoughts and lack of confidence. In this study, we compare different facets of test anxiety in predicting test performance. Seven hundred thirty university students filled out the German Test Anxiety Inventory after completing a battery of standardized tests assessing general intelligence and mathematical competencies. Multiple regressions revealed that interference and lack of confidence but not worry or arousal explained unique variance in students’ test performance. No evidence was found for a curvilinear relationship between arousal and performance. The present results call for revisiting the role of worries in explaining the test anxiety-performance link and can help educators to identify students who are especially at risk of underperforming on tests.

Highlights

  • Educational Psychology ReviewWe live in a test-conscious, test-giving culture in which the lives of people are in part determined by their test performance

  • Seven hundred thirty university students filled out the German Test Anxiety Inventory after completing a battery of standardized tests assessing general intelligence and mathematical competencies

  • Worry was found to be significantly related to general intelligence and higher-order mathematics

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Summary

Introduction

Educational Psychology ReviewWe live in a test-conscious, test-giving culture in which the lives of people are in part determined by their test performance. Work by Thomas et al (2018) indicates that up to 25% of university students can be classified as having high levels of test anxiety, and a national survey in Germany revealed that about 13% seek counseling for test anxiety (Middendorf et al 2016). These numbers underscore the importance of understanding the nature of test anxiety and its relationship to test performance

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