Development of the Test and Examination Anxiety Measure (TEAM)

COPYRIGHT 2015 BY PSI CHI, THE INTERNATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN PSYCHOLOGY (VOL. 20, NO. 1/ISSN 2164-8204) *Faculty mentor Test anxiety (TA) is a debilitating response to examinations that often torments students (Salend, 2012) and has been referred to as “the most virulent impediment to effective role functioning in an educational setting” (Myers, 1986, p. 728). Between 25 and 45% of students report the effects of TA (Salend, 2012), and in today’s arena of high-stakes testing, it is not surprising that many students report experiencing TA. In fact, high-stakes testing induces more TA for students than typical classroom testing (Segool, Carlson, Goforth, Embse, & Barterian, 2013). Stankov (2010) suggested that TA levels will rise as countries become more developed. This phenomenon is not going away and past findings disagree on whether TA causes error in the measurement of students’ true ability on tests (Embse & Hasson, 2013; Putwain, 2008; Reeve & Bonaccio, 2008). Although there is disagreement about whether TA affects testing performance, previous empirical studies are in agreement that TA is related to reductions in academic performance as indicated by grade point average (GPA) and final course grades (Bembenutty, 2009; Chapell et al., 2005; Embse & Hasson, 2013). TA is comprised of emotional, cognitive, and somatic factors, which occur before, during, and after an examination. A review of the literature defines TA as “the set of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral responses that accompany concern about possible negative consequences or failure on an exam or similar evaluative situation” (Zeidner, 1998, p. 17). The study and measurement of TA, initiated in the early 20th century, flourished between the 1950s and 1980s (Zeidner, 1998). Countless studies have been dedicated to this construct and have sought to conceptualize the domain of TA, provide treatments of TA, or develop assessments to measure the construct of TA. Currently, assessments are limited because TA was first described as being a bimodal dimension comprising of an affective and a cognitive component ABSTRACT. Test anxiety (TA) is a multifaceted domain defined as “the set of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral responses that accompany concern about possible negative consequences or failure on an exam or similar evaluative situation” (Zeidner, 1998, p. 17). Despite TA being comprised of various components, current scales do not assess all aspects of TA because they were developed utilizing a theory stating that TA has only two components. Therefore, these scales lack content validity of this construct. The purpose of the present study was to create a scale that more comprehensively measured TA among students. The Test and Examination Anxiety Measure (TEAM) was developed and administered to undergraduate and graduate students (N = 362). The study examined convergent validity with measures of trait anxiety, TA, and academic performance. Results indicated that the TEAM produced optimal reliability (α = .90) and validity. The TEAM had significant positive correlations with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (r = .50, p < .001) and the Test Anxiety Inventory (r = .79, p < .001) as well as a significant negative correlation with grade point average. These outcomes showed that the TEAM has promise. Recommendations to further strengthen the scale are provided. Development of the Test and Examination Anxiety Measure (TEAM)