The nature and relative importance of students' perceptions of the sources of test anxiety

The goal of this investigation was to understand the variety and relative importance of students' perceived sources of test anxiety. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to develop a framework of perceived sources of test anxiety. Students in the first sample provided personal descriptions of their perceived sources of test anxiety upon which the initial framework was developed. Factor analysis of responses to survey items by a second sample of students refined the initial framework. The final framework comprised three broad domains of perceptions of sources of test anxiety: students' perceptions of the test, their self-perceptions, and their perceptions of the test-taking situation. Each of these broad domains in turn subsumed a number of narrower categories of perceptions. Further analyses focused on the perceived and empirical relative importance of these perceived sources. Whereas students perceive test-related properties as most anxiety-inducing, self-perceptions appear to be more strongly empirically related to the level of test anxiety they experience.

Research Highlights
► Perceived source of test anxiety: Students' perceptions of the test
► Perceived source of test anxiety: Students' self-perceptions
► Perceived source of test anxiety: Students' perceptions of test-taking situation.
► Students' perceived predictors of test anxiety differ from empirical predictors.