Test Anxiety in Universities by

Atheer Latif

Introduction• Due to recent growth in human knowledge related to the role and

techniques of educational evaluation, testing has gradually begun to occupy a prominent position in any educational scheme.

• One of the few things that a learner always remembered is the examination experience. It can be damaging to the learner’s career or it can be very useful and very educative for him/her. A test is an instrument of measurement. Like all instruments, tests vary in sharpness and accuracy. Some are accurate, well-made and very useful, others are inaccurate, loaded with errors and consequently harmful

What is testing? • Testing is by far the most common basis for assessment. The criterion for success is a

fixed level which the student is expected to reach; and the result is usually expressed as a percentage. Tests are relatively easy to design and check, take place at pre-test times and places, give clear-cut results, and are in general accepted as reliable bases for course grades. ( Ur, 2012)

• Good tests provide the opportunity for learners to show how much they know about language structure and vocabulary, as well as how they are able to use these formal linguistic features to convey meaning in classroom language activities through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. ( Hedge, 2008)

Test • Bachman & Palmer (1996) said that, tests can be a valuable tool for providing

information that is related to several concerns in language teaching process. They can provide evidence of the results of learning and instruction, and hence feedback on the effectiveness of the teaching program itself.

• Assessment refers to the general process of monitoring or keeping track of the learners’ progress. ( Hedge, 2008)

• Assessment provides students with a tool to be more involved in their learning, and give them a better sense of control for their own learning. (Richards, 2002)

Language test• According to Bachman (1996), testing is a main instrument for measuring

students’ knowledge of course material in many academic occupational courses.

• According to Davies (2006) the purpose of taking language test is to determine a person's ability and/or knowledge in the language and to discriminate that person's ability from that of other fields of knowledge. Such ability may be of different kinds; achievement, proficiency or aptitude.

• McNamara (2000) noted that, the essential to the activities of designing tests and interpreting the meaning of test scores is the view of language and language use embodied in the test. The term test construct refers to those aspects of knowledge or skill possessed by the candidate which are being measured

Anxiety• Nemati (2012, p. 97) stated that, “Anxiety is one of the most basic human

emotions and occurs in every person. In educational setting, anxiety is experienced often by the students when being evaluated such as when taking a test which is called test anxiety”. • Aydin (2013) stated that, anxiety is described as unpleasant emotional state

in which one feels powerless, uneasy and experiences tension in for an expected threat.• According to Larson (2009), “anxiety is a phenomenon that human beings

routinely encounter within their daily experience. It is considered to be one of the most prevalent and pervasive human emotions, with a large sector of world’s populations suffering from excessive and overbearing levels”, (p. 3).

• Chan (2004) stated that, anxiety is generally seen as a psychological concept. • According to Horwitz (2001), anxiety is the personal feeling of tension,

apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with a stimulation of the autonomic nervous system.• According to Riasati (2011), anxiety is one of the best documented

psychological phenomena. The term of anxiety ranges from a mixture of overt behavioral characteristics that can be studied scientifically to reflective feelings that are epistemologically inaccessible.

Types of Anxiety

• According to Riasati (2011), trait anxiety is the tendency of a person to be a nervous or feel anxious irrespective of the situation he/she is exposed to. • Andrade and Williams argued that, “state anxiety, which is nervousness or

tension at a particular moment in response to some outside stimulus”, (2009, p. 2). • Aydin (2009) stated that, situation specific anxiety, relates to apprehension

that is unique to specific situations and events.

Language anxiety• Macintyre (1995) stated that, language anxiety can play an important causal

role in creating individual differences in both language learning and communication. Burns (2004) argued that, test anxiety experienced by learners may adversely affect the ability of testing to measure learners’ knowledge of course material

Test Anxiety• According to Rezazadeh, “Test anxiety refers to a special case of general

anxiety consisting of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral response”, (2009, p. 69). • According to Nemati (2012, p. 97), there are different factors that contribute

to the development of test anxiety. According to Bachman and Palmer (1996), test performance is attributed to test-taker and test task characteristics, test taker qualities consist of • (a) topical knowledge, • (b) language knowledge, • (c) personal trait, • (d) strategic competence, • (e) affective schemata.

• According to (Rezazadeh, 2009), examination stress and test anxiety are pervasive problems in modern society, alleviating test anxiety will also serve to counteract the diminished access to educational and occupational opportunities that is frequently experienced by test-anxious individuals.

• Test anxiety is one of a very difficult learner reaction that has both mental and physical elements to it. A test usually takes place during the semester or at the end of the semester, many students are usually busy with their homework and other activities.

• According to Chaniotis and et al., test anxiety may be defined as “an individual’s somatic, cognitive and behavioral response, which stimulates negative feelings about an evaluation. As negative feelings are meant an inability to think, recall information, tension, and difficulty in understanding simple test questions or direction on an examination”, (2013, p. 201).

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