Higher Levels Of Test Anxiety Research Articles

TEST ANXIETY AMONG SCHOOL STUDENTS APPEARING FOR PUBLIC EXAM AT A GOVT HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, MADURAI

Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety that can affect people of all ages, including adolescents. It is characterized by psychological, physiological, and behavioural reactions related to concerns about obtaining a negative result in an evaluative situation. The study aims to measure the level of exam anxiety among school student and to find out the association or difference between independent variables and test anxietyvariable. The sample size of the study is 50 students appearing for the public exam. The researcher used descriptive research design. Westside Test anxiety tool with good reliability and validity was used.Fifty students from 10th, 11th and 12th std were the samples for the study using stratified proportionate random sampling. Findings show that 37% of respondent hadmoderate high level of test anxiety. ‘t’ test result shows that there is statistically significant difference between female and male students with regard to their test anxiety. Chi-square result shows that there is no association between the type of family and level of test anxiety. The researcher suggests anxiety reduction strategies that will not impair the test performance rather reduce the test anxiety.

Prevalence of test anxiety and their related coping strategies in medical students – A cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction: Exam anxiety is characterized by a combination of bodily symptoms, such as overarousal, tension, and somatic symptoms; mental symptoms, such as concern, dread, and fear of failing; and physical symptoms, similar to catastrophizing. According to recent research, test anxiety affects anywhere between 25% and 40% of students. Self-distraction, denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement, emotional support, venting, humor, acceptance, self-blame, religion, active coping, the use of instrumental support, positive reframing, and planning have all been claimed to be successful coping mechanisms. Aim and Objectives: This study aimed to assess the test anxiety levels and related coping strategies in medical students. Materials and Methods: A total of 106 medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital were included between September 2022 and January 2023. The students who consented to participate in the study were asked to complete the self-administered questionnaire consisting of parts on sociodemographic profile, Westside Test Anxiety Scale, and Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Scale. Results: Males had 38.1%, 35.7%, and 26.7% of average, moderate, and high levels of test anxiety and females reported of 43.8%, 34.4%, and 21.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Academic factors are greater perceived cause of anxiety in medical students. Interventions must be developed and implemented to target particular stressors to reduce the burden and anxiety on students from the 1st year itself. Early screening and interventions of test anxiety among medical students were warranted.

Exploring xenoglossophobia: How subjective socio-demographic status and language experience relate to foreign language classroom anxiety?

This study aimed to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and language anxiety in multilingual individuals. Four hundred seventeen participants, aged 16 to 45 years (M=23.38, SD=7.18), who were studying various foreign languages, were surveyed using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. Additionally, participants completed a demographic questionnaire assessing the number of languages spoken, self-perceived language proficiency, age of language acquisition, time spent abroad, and subjective socioeconomic status (SES). The results revealed that females experienced higher levels of fear of negative evaluation, communication apprehension, and test anxiety compared to males. Fear of negative evaluation was predicted by current SES and self-perceived language proficiency, whereas communication apprehension was positively predicted by current SES and negatively predicted by overall self-rated proficiency score. The test anxiety was predicted by language learning duration and current SES. Lastly, both fear of negative evaluation and communication apprehension exhibited the lowest levels when participants belonged to a beneficial socioeconomic group. Concerning the third component, lower socioeconomic status was associated with higher levels of test anxiety.

Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Test Anxiety Among Adolescent School Students in A South Indian Town – A Cross-Sectional Interventional Trial.

Test anxiety is a common issue among students. Some students find that anxiety interferes with their learning and testtaking to such an extent that their performance suffers. These students may study hard but perform poorly because they may have anxiety-provoking thoughts, such as a desire for perfection or a fear of failure. Furthermore, these negative thoughts may have other consequences, such as dissatisfaction with studies, which can lead to poor academic performance. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of test anxiety among adolescent students and to correlate the level of test anxiety among adolescent students with selected demographic variables. The research design was quantitative descriptive. Purposive sampling was used to select 144 adolescent students who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were available during the data collection period at selected schools in Puducherry. They were divided into two groups to receive a writing intervention. The standardized Westside test anxiety scale was used to collect data. The majority of subjects (71 – i.e., 49.3%) had a high level of test anxiety. Among the others, 56 (38.8%) reported severe test anxiety. But only 17 (11.9%) had extremely high test anxiety. The test anxiety score was associated with selected demographic variables, with statistically significant associations in socio-demographic variables such as the mother's occupation and family monthly income. Test anxiety is one of the most common problems among students, and it is also regarded as one of the most significant barriers to academic success. Writing intervention was very effective in decresing tets anxiety. Therefore, interventions to reduce test anxiety among adolescents should be promoted to make the examination atmosphere more congenial.

The Efficacy Of A Compassion, Acceptance And Mindfulness-based Pilot Intervention For Adolescents’ Test Anxiety: A Case Study Using The Academic Program

Test anxiety (TA) is one of the most common difficulties for secondary school students, with a negative impact in performance, mental health and well-being, and involving high levels of shame, self-criticism, and experiential avoidance. TA may also be conceptualized through an evolutionary and contextual approach to human suffering. To the best of our knowledge, no study has covered this conceptualization, nor has any previous TA treatment been simultaneously manualized, psychotherapeutic, and co-integrated compassion, acceptance and mindfulness-based practices. Moreover, studies on the efficacy of individual treatments directed to TA in adolescents are scarce, and case studies provide a comprehensive, detailed, and useful input about new models and treatments to both researchers and practitioners. The AcAdeMiC Program (Acting with Acceptance, Mindfulness and Compassion to overcome Test/Exam Anxiety) is a manualized 12-session online individual psychotherapeutic intervention, aiming to decrease test anxiety and boost well-being, compassion, acceptance and mindfulness. This is the first study presenting the treatment of an adolescent with high levels of test anxiety using this program. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) showed improvement, and maintenance or increase of gains over time, across all targeted symptoms and processes. The AcAdeMiC was also qualitatively and quantitatively perceived as useful and effective at posttreatment. This clinical case study provides a first glance at the conceptualization and treatment of TA with the new AcAdeMiC program.

Academic Buoyancy: Overcoming Test Anxiety and Setbacks

High levels of test anxiety can be damaging for academic achievement, wellbeing, and mental health. It is important, therefore, to consider those psychological attributes that may offer protection against the development of test anxiety and its negative consequences, thereby contributing to a potential positive future life trajectory. Academic buoyancy, the ability to respond effectively to academic pressures and setbacks, is one such attribute that offers protection from high test anxiety. We begin by defining test anxiety and a brief review of the literature to consider the harmful nature of test anxiety. This is followed by a definition of academic buoyancy and brief review of the literature to consider the beneficial character of academic buoyancy. Next, we describe the Self-Regulatory Executive Function model of test anxiety and consider the mechanisms and processes by which academic buoyancy exerts beneficial effects on test anxiety. The paper concludes with a consideration of critical issues for the conceptualisation and measurement of academic buoyancy, arising from the synergies, connections, and relations, theorised with test anxiety, and how these may inform future studies.

Study of test anxiety amongst undergraduate medical students from the state of Gujarat.

Test anxiety is physiological and behavioral response that accompanies concerns about possible negative consequences of failure on an exam. Undergraduate medical students had their academics disrupted during COVID-19 pandemic. This study was done to assess levels of test anxiety among undergraduate medical students, its variance in relation to demography, COVID-19 pandemic, learning experiences, and individual factors. Online questionnaire-based survey was done among undergraduate medical students from medical schools of Gujarat. Students from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years who were about to appear in final exams from March to June 2021 and were asked to enroll on the survey. Apart from demography, COVID-19-related factors, learning experiences during lockdown, 10-item Westside test anxiety (WTA) scale was used to assess test anxiety levels and Kessler Psychological distress (K10) scale was used to assess level of psychological distress. Total of 370 students participated. Mean WTA Score was 3.15 ± 1; 60.2% of the respondents had moderate or higher levels of test anxiety. On bivariate analysis, WTA score was found significantly associated with year of study, coming from vernacular medium, various lockdown-related issues (poor internet connection, family financial problem, lack of information, worry about future), various learning experiences (self-rated proficiency with computers, feeling ill prepared for exams, feeling ill prepared for practical), and K10 score. Of these associations with K10 score, coming from vernacular medium and feeling ill-prepared for exams were maintained on multiple-linear regression. Vernacular medium of study during high school was found associated with test anxiety among medical students and can be a potential area of intervention. There may be merit in using WTA scale as a surrogate marker for distress in medical students.

Evaluation of meditation and reported test anxiety in bachelor of science nursing students

Anxiety is a growing concern among college students and often surrounds the required testing that assesses a student’s knowledge and ability to apply this knowledge to situations in nursing. If nursing students’ anxiety is not addressed, this may impact their ability to perform well on exams and be successful in their nursing program. Research supports the idea that anxiety reduction strategies can lower levels of test anxiety for those in nursing programs. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of test anxiety of students in a pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and to examine the use of a brief meditation video on students’ anxiety levels. A pre-test/post-test design was utilized to assess the test anxiety levels of sophomore and senior nursing students at the beginning of the semester and before their first and second exams. The results of this study found that 79.8% of the students (n = 52) reported a moderate to an extremely high level of test anxiety. In addition, there was a statistically significant (p < .000) reduction in anxiety levels at the first and second exams after implementing the meditation video compared to scores at the beginning of the semester. Based on these findings, nursing programs should consider including meditation as a strategy to reduce test anxiety in students. The program was cost-effective and would be easy to implement into a nursing program’s curriculum.

Demographic Factors and Test Anxiety among Secondary School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of test anxiety among secondary school students in Ilesa East Local Government Area (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria. It also examined the association between students’ demographic factors and test anxiety in the study area. The study population comprised all Senior Secondary School (SSS) III students in the LGA. A sample of 240 students was selected by stratified sampling technique using school ownership (public and private) as a stratum. An adapted questionnaire titled Students’ Test and Examination Anxiety Measure (STEAM) was used to collect data for the study. The result showed that 50.8% of the respondents had a low level of test anxiety while 49.2% of respondents have a high level of test anxiety, and there was no statistically significant influence on students’ gender (Wald Χ2 = 0. 000, p 0.05) on test anxiety. The study concluded that test anxiety is a physiological condition commonly exhibited by students irrespective of gender. It is recommended that any policy intervention programme to be developed either by the government or private organizations must not be gender biased.

Test anxiety: Is it associated with performance in high-stakes examinations?

ABSTRACT A long-established literature has found that anxiety about testing is negatively related to academic achievement. Yet there remains some debate as to whether this is simply due to less academically able pupils being more likely to develop education-related anxiety issues. This paper presents new evidence on this matter, focusing upon how test anxiety – as measured by five questions included in the PISA 2015 survey – is related to the grades 15/16-year-olds achieve in England’s high-stakes GCSE examinations. I find little evidence that teenagers with low or high levels of test anxiety achieve lower GCSE grades than pupils with average levels of test anxiety. Thus, in contrast to much of the existing literature, no clear relationship between test anxiety and examination performance is found.

Burnout and Maladjustment Among Employed Students.

Stress and burnout are present in every aspect of an individual’s life, and the growing number of employed students raises certain concerns about their engagement in academic tasks and finishing their studies. Our study aims to analyze the differences between student burnout in different contexts, work- and academic-related burnout, and examine the predictive role of burnout in academic maladjustment, including test anxiety as a mediator and occupational status as a moderator. The sample consisted of 151 students from different universities in Romania. Consistent with previous studies, the results showed that academic burnout is higher than work-related burnout. High levels of test anxiety explain high levels of academic burnout, which in turn explains low levels of academic adjustment. The results highlight the mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between academic burnout and academic maladjustment with occupational status as a moderator. Future research should focus on the type of students’ job, the mediating relationship between self-efficacy and academic burnout, and the relationship between burnout and personality traits.

Adjustment to higher education among students with mental health disorders

ABSTRACT The current study examined the adjustment to higher education among students with mental health disorders, focusing on adjustment to post-secondary education, emotional and metacognitive variables. The participants were 123 students who had already completed at least one year at an institution of higher education: 63 students who self-identified themselves with mental health disorders and 60 students who did not identify with any mental health disorders or disability. Students with mental health disorders reported on lower levels of adjustment (social, emotional, institutional, and academic) to post-secondary education than students with no mental health disorders. In addition, students with mental health disorders reported lower satisfaction with life, academic self-efficacy, and higher levels of test anxiety than students without mental health disorders. Furthermore, significant between-group differences were found in three meta-cognition subscales. Lastly, satisfaction with life, test anxiety, academic self-efficacy, and disability status and five metacognition subscales predicted 75% of the variability in adjustment to higher education in the entire sample. These findings suggest that following their first year in higher education, students with mental health disorders continue to experience difficulties in social, emotional, institutional, and academic adjustment. Implications of the results are discussed.

Relations between prior school performance and later test anxiety during the transition to secondary school.

When exposed to evaluative situations, up to 40% of students develop test anxiety, reflected, namely, by extensive worry, intrusive thoughts, and physiological arousal. Though the negative influence of test anxiety on later school performance is well documented, the role of students' initial achievement in the development of later test anxiety is less clear. To better capture the nature of the relations between prior mathematics and language arts achievement and later test anxiety across genders, this study examined linear and curvilinear relationships among 1,569 French-speaking Canadian students followed across the transition to secondary school, a critical period for test anxiety. Students completed a questionnaire at the beginning and the end of the first year of secondary school, and schools provided us with students grades at the end of 6th grade and the fall of 7th grade. Multilevel regression analyses showed that only mathematics achievement at the end of elementary school predicted test anxiety at the beginning of secondary school. In secondary school, beginning-of-year achievement in both mathematics and language arts predicted test anxiety at the end of this same year, but different patterns were observed for boys and girls. Because nonlinear relations were observed at each timepoint, low achievers may not be the only group of students who are at greater risk of developing high levels of test anxiety. Therefore, interventions targeting students with different achievement profiles might help to reduce test anxiety and facilitate the transition to secondary school.

The fear of big brother: The potential negative side‐effects of proctored exams

AbstractBackgroundOnline and blended learning need an appropriate assessment strategy which ensures academic integrity. During the pandemic, many universities have chosen for online proctoring. Although some earlier examples suggest that online proctoring may reduce cheating, the potential side‐effects of proctoring are largely unknown.ObjectivesTherefore, this study aims to identify the effects of proctoring on students' self‐reported temptation to cheat and potentially undesirable side‐effects, including test anxiety, perceived exam difficulty, and performance. In addition, we examine which contextual and student characteristics affect test anxiety during online exams.MethodsFor this, we collected four waves of survey data throughout a year of teaching during the pandemic at one faculty of a Dutch university, resulting in a total sample of 1760 students within 105 courses.Results and ConclusionsMulti‐level analyses showed that while proctoring had no effect on the temptation to cheat, exam difficulty or performance, students reported higher levels of test anxiety. Some learning strategies, internet literacy, access to a reliable technology and a dedicated study space as well as gender and financial stress affect their test anxiety. To conclude, the decision to use online proctoring needs to consider the undesirable side‐effect on test anxiety. We discuss practical implications for university administrators, educational designers and teachers to reduce test anxiety.

Low academic achievement as a predictor of test anxiety in secondary school students

ObjectivesThe present study had two objectives: 1) to examine the differences between students with different levels of academic achievement (low, average and high) in Anxiety/Depression and Test Anxiety; and 2) to test the predictive effect of academic achievement on test anxiety. MethodData were collected in two moments. In time 1, the sample was comprised of 305 students. The students were aged between 15 to 18years, attending secondary school. The assessment protocol consisted of a Socio-demographic Data Sheet, the Youth Self-Report and the Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale. ResultsStudents with low academic achievement presented higher test anxiety than students with average and high academic achievement. Low academic achievement on time 1 predicted higher levels of test anxiety on time 2 when186 participants remained in the study. ConclusionResults suggest the importance of early psychological intervention with students with low academic achievement, and the relevance of promoting the development of skills that enable students to manage their test anxiety.

Assessment of Examination Related Anxiety among Students in a Medical College at Kolkata, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Medical education is considered to be one of the most academically and emotionally demanding training programmes out of any profession. Stress causes a negative effect on the students’ psychosocial well-being. Students having anxiety can experience intense feeling of fear or panic and also impairs concentration and working memory. Aim: To estimate the examination related anxiety levels among medical students. Also, to find out its association with different lifestyle and behavioural factors. Materials and Methods: This institution-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 365 medical students of Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, from February 2022 to March 2022. The study used predesigned, pretested, and semi-structured questionnaire. To assess anxiety level, the 10-item Westside Test Anxiety Scale was used. The scale consists of 10 questions which are answered based on a 5-point scale. Data was analysed done in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Results: Out of 365, 108 (29.6%) students suffered from moderately-high test anxiety during exams in both 1st and 2nd professional MBBS year. Only 8.2% students had comfortably-low test anxiety, whereas, 11.2% had extremelyhigh test anxiety. Among the first year students 37.5% male and 19.5% female had moderately high to extremely high level of test anxiety. In second year students 34.6% male and 20.6% female had moderately high to extremely high level of test anxiety. Male gender, addiction to smoking, addiction to alcohol, virtual gaming habit, coming from a nuclear family, and staying at home during exams had greater odds of having high anxiety than their counterparts. Addiction to smoking had adjusted odds of 1.52 and was found to be statistically significant. Students who resided in their homes had 2.34 times more chances of having high test anxiety and this association was found to be statistically significant. The practice of yoga was found to be protective with adjusted odds of 0.31 and this was also statistically significant. Conclusion: Male gender, addiction to smoking and alcohol, virtual gaming habit, coming from a nuclear family and staying at home during examination time had greater impact on anxiety level than their counterparts. The practice of yoga was found to be protective. Involving students in different extra-curricular activities like outdoor games, yoga, playing music may be helpful in alleviating anxiety level.

Abstract- Poster

Background:Test anxiety is physiological and behavioral responses that accompanies concern about possible negative consequences of failure in an exam. Undergraduate medical students had their academics disrupted during COVID-19 pandemic.Aims:To study levels of test anxiety among undergraduate medical students, its variance in relation to demography, COVID-19 pandemic, learning experiences and individual factors.Method:Online questionnaire-based survey was done amongst undergraduate medical students from medical schools of Gujarat. Students from 1st, 2nd and 3rd years who were about to appear in final exams from March to June 2021, were asked to enroll in the survey. Apart from demography, COVID-19 related factors, learning experiences during lockdown, 10-item Westside Test Anxiety (WTA) scale was used to assess test anxiety levels and Kessler Psychological distress (K10) scale was used to assess level of psychological distress.Results:Total of 370 students participated. Mean WTA Score was 3.15±1; 60.2% of the respondents had moderate or higher levels of test anxiety. On bivariate analysis WTA score was found significantly associated with year of study, coming from vernacular medium, various lockdown related issues (family financial problem, worry about future) various learning experiences (feeling ill prepared for exams,) and K10 score. Of these association with K10 score, coming from vernacular medium and feeling ill-prepared for exam were maintained on multiple-linear regression.Conclusions:Vernacular medium of study during high school was found associated with test anxiety amongst medical students and can be a potential area of intervention

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Anxiety of Adolescents in Québec.

BackgroundSeveral studies conducted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown its harmful effects on young people’s mental health. In Québec and Canada, few studies have focussed on adolescents, and even fewer of these studies have examined this subject using a methodology that involved comparisons of data obtained before and during the pandemic, which is the purpose of this study.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety of secondary 1 and 2 students in Québec, using data obtained before and during the pandemic.MethodParticipants were 2990 French Canadian students in secondary 1 (grade 7) and secondary 2 (grade 8) in Québec. Two independent samples completed the questionnaires, one sample before the pandemic (fall 2019) and one sample during the pandemic (fall 2020). Their answers were subjected to descriptive analysis and multivariate analysis of variance.ResultsResults show that the pandemic has had variable impacts on the student’s mental health, with some of them reporting negative effects on their lives, others reporting no effect, and some reporting positive effect. However, the students surveyed during the pandemic generally reported more symptoms of generalized anxiety, and higher levels of test anxiety, fear of judgment and perfectionism than the ones surveyed before the pandemic.ConclusionsThe discussion puts forward possible explanations for the results obtained, which contribute to a better understanding of young adolescents’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also discusses the importance of developing interventions for adolescents affected by this pandemic.

Examination anxiety: a school-based intervention

ABSTRACT The general issue of children’s mental health has become a growing concern in the UK in recent decades. There has been a specific concern about the increased stringency and pressure of formal educational assessments with some students reported as, experiencing high levels of test anxiety. This paper investigated a school-based test anxiety intervention Beating Exam Anxiety Together (BEAT) developed by educational psychologists from Kent EPS and delivered to two secondary (high) schools in the North-West of England for students aged 15–16 years. No comparison group was used, instead single participant cases were observed at two points: one before the delivery of BEAT and another after the intervention. A mixed methods approach was employed to provide a rich account on how the intervention was delivered. Quantitative data from the experimental study, using the Revised Test Anxiety Scale (RTA), show that 13 out of 14 participants reported a reduction in test anxiety post intervention. Qualitative data strongly support the quantitative findings, highlighting that participants feel better equipped to manage their test anxiety levels and feel better prepared to cope in an exam situation. Implications for pastoral staff supporting in schools, and future research, are considered.

Examination of Test Anxiety in a Sample of 18 to 26 year-old Singapore and U.S. Undergraduate Male and Female Students on the Test Anxiety Measure for College Students-Short Form

A cross-national study was conducted on a new test anxiety measure, the Test Anxiety Measure for College Students-Short Form (TAMC-SF) in a sample of 1,023 Singapore and U.S. students, aged 18-26. The TAMC-SF consists of one facilitating anxiety scale and five test anxiety (Worry, Cognitive Interference, Social Concerns, Physiological Hyperarousal, and Task Irrelevant Behaviors) scales. The measure was administered to the sample of higher education students online. The results of single-group confirmatory factor analyses found support for the TAMC-SF six-factor model for Singapore students, U.S. students, male students, and female students. In addition, the results of multi-group, mean and covariance structure analysis found support for the construct equivalency of the TAMC-SF scores across country and gender. Latent mean factor analyses followed and the results of these analyses indicated Singapore students had significantly higher levels of social concerns and significantly lower levels of cognitive interference and worry than U.S. students. The findings also indicated females had significantly higher levels of test anxiety than males on all five TAMC-SF test anxiety scales. Evidence supporting the construct validity of the TAMC-SF scores with the scores of math anxiety, social phobia, and self-critical perfectionism was also reported. Implications of the study’s findings for researchers and clinicians are discussed.