Test anxiety: do gender and school-level matter?

Aydin, U. (2017) Test anxiety: do gender and school-level matter? European Journal of Educational Research, 6(2), pp. 187-197. (doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.6.2.187)

Abstract

The study investigated differences in students’ reported overall test anxiety before, during, or after test taking among two school-levels and gender. Differences among three test anxiety components (thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions) were also examined. Participants were 725 primary (349 females, 376 males) and 375 middle (180 females, 195 males) school students from a metropolitan city in Turkey. Turkish students’ reported overall test anxiety declined from primary to middle school, with females showing higher test anxiety throughout school years. Whereas students rated thoughts high, autonomic reactions were rated low; followed by off-task behaviors. Female and male students did not differ in thoughts and autonomic reactions. School-level differences were found in off-task behaviors and autonomic reactions. The pattern of Turkish students’ overall test anxiety derived as a combination of thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions was discussed, and educational implications were offered.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Aydin, Dr Utkun
• Authors: Aydin, U.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: European Journal of Educational Research
• Publisher: Eurasian Society of Educational Research
• ISSN: 2165-8714
• ISSN (Online): 2165-8714
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in European Journal of Educational Research 6(2):187-197
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence