Test anxiety, heart rate and performance in A-level French speaking mock exams: an exploratory study

Abstract

Background: Test anxiety can be potentially serious when it leads to high levels of distress and poor academic performance in students. While research suggests that a small degree of anxiety can act as a motivator, debilitating test anxiety can disrupt mental processes, especially when the task is demanding, as is the case in formal academic assessment. As such, test anxiety is a possible source of construct irrelevant invariance that complicates the measurement process and is a threat to validity and the interpretation of assessment outcomes. Purpose: This pilot study explored the relationship between test anxiety, heart rate and academic performance. The pilot trialled heart rate measurement procedures in an applied setting and tested the utility of a self-report test anxiety questionnaire that had been adapted to suit UK secondary school students. Sample: Participants were 39 UK secondary students undertaking a mock French speaking test; complete data were available for 23 students. Design and methods: This was a correlational design, employing a self-report questionnaire of test anxiety, an objective heart rate measure and performance on a mock French language speaking test. Additional data were drawn from school records to measure prior academic attainment. Results: There was a significant, negative relationship between general test anxiety and general academic performance, although test anxiety was not related to performance on the French speaking test. Neither was there a significant relationship between general test anxiety and heart rate. There was, however, a significant positive relationship between heart rate and performance on the mock French test. Conclusion: This study represents an initial exploration of the relationship between test anxiety, heart rate and academic performance in UK post-compulsory assessment. It found that physiological and self-report correlates of test anxiety were significantly related to academic performance and the implications of these relationships are discussed with a view to further research.