e impacts of such anxiety in assessing students performance in education, This study brings us closer to the impacts of test anxiety

in students academic performance.Be that as it may, academic assessments are vital and thus play a

Chinaza solomon ironsi

The Effect of Text

Anxiety on Academic
I am a graduate of Vocational and Special education,
M.A in English Language Education and currently on
with my Ph.D. in the same field. I am from Nigeria
and do reside in Cyprus.I am happily married with a
daughter.I have dire interest in research especially Performance
of EFL Learners
within the field of education and language teaching

978-620-2-07620-3
 Chinaza solomon ironsi

The Effect of Text Anxiety on Academic Performance of EFL

Learners
 Chinaza solomon ironsi

The Effect of Text Anxiety

on Academic Performance of
EFL
Learners

LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing

Imprint
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Publisher:
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
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Printed at: see last page

ISBN: 978-620-2-07620-3

Zugl. / Approved by: Cyprus, Girne American University

Copyright © Chinaza solomon ironsi

Copyright © 2017 International Book Market Service Ltd., member of
OmniScriptum Publishing Group
All rights reserved. Beau Bassin 2017
LIST OF TABLE

Table1: Population distribution of male and female participant ……….. 36

Table2: Frequency distribution of questionnaire responses ……...…….. 39
Table3: Gender-based analysis on test anxiety ……………………….. 40
Table4: Mean responses of students on the impact of test anxiety on
academic performances …………………………………………………. 42

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: A pie chart showing test anxiety categories ……………….. 40

Figure 2: A bar chart showing comparison of test anxiety across gender……41

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................1

1.1 Background of the Study...................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the Problem..................................................................2

1.3 Purpose of the Study..........................................................................4

1.4 Significance of the Study...................................................................4

1.5 Research Questions…........................................................................4

1.6 Assumptions of Study........................................................................5

1.7 Definition of the Key Terms..............................................................5

1.8 Limitations of Study..........................................................................6

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW................................................7

2.1 Current status of the Topic................................................................7

2.2 Test Anxiety; An Overview of Test anxiety.......................................7

2.1.2 Definition of Test anxiety.........................................................8

2.1.3 Causes of Test Anxiety among EFL Students..........................8

2.1.4 Influence of Test Anxiety on Academic performance..............9

2.1.5 Reducing Test Anxiety Among EFL Learners........................12

 2.1.6 Ways of improving Evaluation to Improve Academic

performance.....................................................................................16

2.3 Review of Related Empirical Studies on Effect of Test Anxiety

on Academic Performance of EFL undergraduate students............30

2.4 Research Gap...................................................................................34.

CHAPTER 3.METHODOLOGY..............................................................36

3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................36

3.2 Research Design................................................................................36

3.3 Participants........................................................................................36

3.4 Instrumentation..................................................................................37

3.5 Data Collection..................................................................................37

3.6 Methods of Data Analysis.................................................................37

3.7 Anticipated Results and Summary....................................................38

CHAPTER 4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION............................................39

4.1 Overview...........................................................................................39

4.2 Result of Questionnaire Analysis......................................................39

4.3 Results of Interview Questions..........................................................44

4.4 Conclusion of Interview Analysis.....................................................46

4.5 Discussion..........................................................................................45

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..................51

5.1 Conclusion.......................................................................................51

5.2 Recommendations............................................................................53

5.3 Suggestions for further study............................................................54

 1

THE EFFECT OF TEST ANXIETY ON ACADEMIC PERFROMANCE OF EFL

LEARNERS

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Kizlik (2012) argued that educational evaluation should not serve the purpose of suggesting
academic environment as a danger environment for students. He was of the opinion that if
education was for the wellbeing of the students, such platforms (academic environment) should
not breed a kind of tension or anxiety at the detriment of the students. This, he believed, will
cause several misnomers while educating the students.
Educational evaluation serves the purpose of evaluating and coordinating educational
process, which is usually a function of time that allows the learner to improve gradually over a
consistent learning period of time. Ergene (2003) asserted that if this remains the case,
evaluation should be consistent and should gear towards bringing out the best in a student
consciously managing tensions that such evaluation can cause. He further asked this question:
‘Why do evaluations breed nervousness among students?’
Since the 1950s, many studies have been carried out by notable researchers on the issue of
anxiety, especially by George Mander and Seymour Sarason (1985), who together with other
numerous researchers have made a remarkable impact on the study of test anxiety among
students. They describe test anxiety as fear of failing, experienced by students before or while
taking an important examination.
McDonald (2001) indicated that a relationship exists between test anxiety and students’
academic performance. He further explained that research findings have shown that evaluations
under this state of anxiety usually result in errors during the evaluation process. It is also
claimed that students’ learning outcomes do not usually correspond to their classroom
performance, where the affective filter is under control. What might be the possible problem
then? Should evaluation be abolished in school?
With respect to this, Lindsay (2002) argued that stressful evaluations in our educational
system have generated the issue of anxiety among students, which is more visible during test
situation. She further stated that results from researches have stressed the need for creation of
peaceful examination settings that will reduce the effect of anxiety on the student which in turn
assist the students to perform very well during tests.

The issue of test anxiety creates a lazy attitude among most students towards learning thus
affecting their academic performance. Eysenck (2001) believed that educational judgment
should not be carried out in schools as schools are places believed to cause an educational
change in students. He agreed with Sudbury’s (2011) democratic model of education and stated
that this model should be a guidance for most educational administrators especially in assessing
and evaluating students’ performance in school. The model proposed that learners have the right
to learn what they want to learn in a way they want in an atmosphere they want. Sudbury’s
model of education could be a step to reducing issues of test nervousness among students, which
will allow for bringing out the best in students. It is, thus, important to notice that test anxiety
has caused lack of enthusiasm among students, which has a negative impact on their academic
performance. In view of this negative impact of test anxiety, should evaluation be erased in our
school systems? How do we assess students’ progress without causing anxiety? How can we
monitor teachers’ teaching style without basic assessment? Does conducive environment
guarantee high academic performance? What is the way forward in view of educational
evaluation and test nervousness? These and much more are questions that propelled this
research on the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of EFL undergraduate
students at a private university in North Cyprus.
1.2. Statement of Problem
Creating a conducive environment where students are more relaxed and comfortable for
learning is vital for active classroom participation among students. Similarly, creating a
conducive test atmosphere that is student-friendly will also assist in improving students’
performance during test situations. Many students usually develop fright and anxiety during test
scenarios. This Obviously does not help in evaluating students appropriately as this issue in
most cases result in errors in measurement and evaluation of learners. Expression of anxiety is
usually visible during test situations, which leaves lots of questions concerning the outcome of
the test in such an anxious test atmosphere.
Jane (2001) argues that differences in students’ abilities have an indirect effect on their
classroom participation, which when mismanaged results in a feeling of inferiority and
superiority complex among the students. The difference in students’ study skills and other
emotional-related issues do contribute greatly to test anxiety. Sady (2010) was of the opinion
that individual differences related to child psychology should be considered in teaching and
evaluations, where students with poor study skills tend to develop A high degree of nervousness
during test situation. She stated that a feeling of inferiority usually develops in a student who
does not participate actively in classroom activities, and thus it is possible to cause a state of
anxiety during test situations. Such emotional issues are not determinants of positive learning
outcomes, and thus, can lead to a misconception of a student's performance in test situations.
Worthy of mention is a truth that some students in a classroom environment can show
understanding in a lesson during and after the lesson. McDonald (2001) maintained that some
students have the ability to practice what is being taught during the lesson but when given same
lessons to discuss in a test situation where grades are awarded, tensions tend to arise in such
tests. Hong and Karstensson (2002) said that attachments of grades to academic evaluation have
created anticipatory anxiety which has gained dominance among students. They posited that
students are more poised to study with the motive of achieving high grades which do not
indicate that learning is achieved. Anticipatory anxiety is becoming prevalent especially in a
present school system where education has been divided into sub-level requiring a student to
graduate from one level to another.
In addition, other possible factors that have generated test anxiety among college students
may include cognitive related issues, individual differences, cases of multiple intelligence,
where for example a particular student may show more intelligence in mathematics than arts and
vice versa. Such factors may breed anxiety among students, as well. Administrative planning
that does not give enough time for academic activities can generate anxiety among students. In
this case, students may not have enough time for study in preparation for exams and in most
cases where there is conflict or closely scheduled examination time-table, a level of nervousness
tends to arise. Students’ previous experience on test situation may contribute to their
performance in a future test situation, which may also cause anxiety. These and much more are
possible issues are to be discussed in this thesis, which will assist in giving a direction to this
study on the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of sophomore students in a
private university in Northern Cyprus.
1.3. Purpose of Study
The major purpose of this study was to determine the effect of test anxiety on the academic
performance of EFL undergraduate students in a private university in Northern Cyprus. The
study also seeks to achieve the following:
1. Determine the impact of test anxiety on undergraduate students ‘academic performance.

2. Determine the influence of test anxiety across gender of EFL students.

1.4. Significance of Study

This research will be of benefit to students, teachers, educational researchers and school
administrators. The study shall assist students in developing positive self-esteem and confidence
especially towards examination through psychological exercises managed by a psychologist that
aims at helping reduce stress before and after examinations. Students will acknowledge that
assessments are for purposes of determining learning outcomes in line with academic
expectation as teachers will engage in reassurance practices that will assist the students to
understand the need for evaluation and not to scare them away. The teachers will use the
information of this research to improve various techniques of academic assessment,
measurement, and evaluation. This will improve student-teacher relationship in education.
Moreover, this research will ignite more research in this area of test anxiety it is becoming more
prevalent in our schools that such research findings will assist in the refining of the educational
system, finally. This research will re-orientate the school on philosophies of education that have
their foundation on building a student from scratch to a world citizen, and this is dependent
upon time and other numerous factors.

1.5. Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to give guidance to the study:
1. What is the impact of test anxiety on the academic performance of EFL students?

2. Do gender differences have an impact on test anxiety among EFL students?

1.6. Assumptions of Study
The study assumes that test anxiety should not be an issue in educational system considering
other factors that affect positive learning outcomes. The study through its literature review
displays arguments in support of the claim that test anxiety has a high degree of effect on
academic performance of students. Possible ways of curbing this issue of test anxiety will also
be highlighted with different authors stating their different views. Based on these views,
possible measures of improving evaluation to enhance performance will be stated. The results of
the present study may lend support to the existing literature on test anxiety.

1.7. Definition of Key Terms

The following terms are important in this study hence, they will be defined below.
1. Evaluation
2. Test anxiety (TA) Learning outcome, Anticipatory anxiety, Individual difference

3. Multiple intelligence

4. Academic performance

5. Affective variables

1. Evaluation is defined in this study as the act of inquiry; seeking information by asking
questions either through examinations, test or interrogation.

2. Test anxiety is defined in this study as a feeling of nervousness or uneasiness usually

experienced by students before and after examinations. Anticipatory anxiety is defined
as a feeling of anticipated nervousness or a foreseen impression of anxiety usually
experienced by students before examinations. Individual differences are the variations
from one person to another on variables such as self-esteem, the rate of cognitive
development or degree of agreeableness.
Multiple intelligence is defined in this study as an attempt to broaden the spectrum of
human abilities that are included in the concept of intelligence which suggests that
intelligence is not a single thing but a combination of seven different abilities
 3. Academic performance is defined in this study as what you have shown you can do in
a certain subject.it is a measure of what you have done independently after classroom
lessons.

4. The affective variable is defined in this study as a behavior exhibited by students as a

result of emotional feelings which is caused by certain factors(variables)yet
unknown.

1.8. Limitations of The Study

The study is restricted to the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of second
year EFL students. Other variables like causes of test anxiety, signs, and symptoms of test
anxiety, ages of the learner, and different proficiency levels were not taken into. In other, the
study focused only on test anxiety and male and female university students.
With a preview of the background of the study, the problem of study and the purpose of the
study, this research will assist the researcher in achieving the aims and objectives of the study to
give the work an expected end.
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Current Status of the Topic

Test anxiety has become an issue in the educational sector due to the alarming effect it has on
the general educational outcome. It is assumed that test anxiety has contributed negatively to
students’ academic performance and thus has created a wide gap in learning. To this end
literature of this study will be reviewed under the following sub-heading;
1. Test anxiety; overview of test anxiety

2. Influence of test anxiety on academic performance of students

3. Ways of reducing test anxiety among undergraduate EFL students

4. Measures of improving evaluation to enhance students’ academic performance.

2.2. Test Anxiety: An Overview of Test Anxiety:

The importance of evaluation in education cannot be overemphasized and this has resulted in
a lot of questions that borders on effective evaluation. Sarason (1999) suggests that high scores
in evaluation do not necessarily imply or describe learning outcomes at the end of lessons. He
further stated that due to the nature of most evaluations, bias and errors are being registered as a
result of many underlying factors.be that as it may, he further posited that evaluation in
cognizance of these underlying factors cannot be erased in educational systems of the world.
To this end, evaluation in most educational institutions is carried out through several means.
Sattler and Wiegle (2013) believed that the most effective means of classroom evaluation was
through examination and taking of test structured and administered by teachers, they further
described examination as a set of structured questions that are gotten from previous or present
study given to students to answer in order to determine their level of comprehension of what is
being taught. In the opinion of Putwain and Best (2011) they believed that test and examination
are given either during classroom lessons or at the end of lessons, usually at the end of sessions
in most educational facilities, they further said that students usually experience fear and
nervousness during evaluation periods and believed that through open-book test, assignments, or
projects, nervousness, fear or test anxiety can be controlled in order to erase bias and errors
witnessed in evaluation. Many educational researchers will argue this; test anxiety is assumed to
be an academic issue in the present dispensation, but does test anxiety really exist? In the work
of Sarason(1959), he unveiled that test anxiety exists among test takers and does have a direct
correlation with learning outcomes. This questions then arises; what is test anxiety?

2.2.1 Definition of Test Anxiety

According to Mowbray (2012) test is described as an academic evaluation that is intended to
measure the level of students’ comprehension of a lesson which is usually awarded during or
after lessons. He further stated that test is usually given at the end of lessons and grades awarded
according to the performance of learners which assist educational administrators in carrying out
academic and educational decisions on students. He further described test anxiety as a state of
anxiety or ill-feeling experienced by the student during or before test situations or examination,
this feeling of nervousness or ill-feeling as a result of the test, he described simply as “anxiety
over test”. In his view, he posited that a feeling of uneasy or change in heartbeats are usually
experienced by test taker during or before an examination and this in most cases affects the
performance of these students.
In line with this view, Lowe and Ang (2012) agreed to the aforementioned definition of test
anxiety, they also defined test anxiety as a physiological condition which makes people react
aggressively to stress, anxiety, and discomfort during and/or before taking a test.They further
explained that test anxiety is both physiological and psychological misnomer that is evident
among test takers and was of the opinion that test takers experience a diverse range of feelings
like sweats on palms, constant heartbeats during test, loss of memory, nervousness, inability to
eat as a sign to show anxiety before/during an examination. This anxiety creates significant
barriers to learning and performance among students and in most cases create a problem in the
evaluation and this wide gap is the essence of this study on test anxiety.
According to Wikipedia, test anxiety is a combination of mental over-arousal, tension
possessing mind symptoms, along with worry, and fear of failure, that occur mostly to test
takers before or during the examination. This definition of test anxiety also complies with the
submission of the authors above that test anxiety deals with a feeling of dread, fear, worry, and
other negative feelings which affect the mind during test situations. The above definitions
suggest that test anxiety is a negative feeling about examinations showed by test takers during
the examination which is possible to suggest lots of issues that concerns evaluations in
education. If test takers have a negative feeling about examinations and test, why do they do
well after the exams? Does this suggest that it's normal for students to have a feeling of
nervousness during exams and still are able to perform well during the exams? Or do these
feelings suggest that the overall performance of students doesn't matter, after all, their individual
performance does not replicate comprehension of what is being taught? Maybe students can
engage in other activities healthy or unhealthy in order to ensure good performance during
exams? Do all these questions prove the effectiveness of using examination, presentations, test
as means for educational evaluations? Or are there possible platforms that create anxiety among
students and thus inhibit their performance? In the next subheading, we shall have an in-depth
understanding of possible causes of nervousness and fear among students during and after the
test.

2.2.2 Causes of Test Anxiety Among EFL Students

Sudbury democratic model of education suggests that learning should be organized in a way
that allows the students to choose what they intend to learn, how, when, and where in a formal
academic setting. The model suggests that this will help create a conducive learning
environment that allows learners inwards skills and attitudes to be developed which is the main
essence of education. Greenberg (2016)believes that this claim of Sudbury did not explain how
this model intends to achieve positive educational outcomes among learners through its strategy
of a democratic learning style, it claimed that since learning is usually aimed at motivating the
students toward academic excellence that is aimed at human capacity building in learners, thus
the role of the school is to motivate the students towards human capacity building and allowing
the learners to choose how to accomplish and achieve this goal rather trying to suggest or
provide compulsory standards to follow in order to achieve this goal. In agreement with this
assertion, Putwain and Best (2011) suggest that unconducive nature of academic learning has
made test takers to develop a feeling of anxiety during or before examinations. They further
stated that examinations are being structured in a manner that suggests to students that only
through examination can the teacher evaluate whether learning is achieved at the end of lessons
or not. This is assumed to have increased the level of anxiety among students and thus can
contribute to the reason why students cannot do very well in academic performance. Baddeley
(2013) was of the opinion that this feeling of nervousness among students causes mind
depression issues and total dislike for examinations, this negative attitude of students towards
test is assumed a reason for the increase in drop-outs visible in our world today. He further
stated that most drop-outs are due to the inability of students to read and pass an examination as
a result of many underlying factors and when this becomes the case, dropping out of school
becomes an option.
According to Johnson and Grounlund (2009)who believed that while test uneasiness can be
extremely disturbing for students who experience the ill effects of it, numerous individuals do
not understand that is quite normal to experience a little anxiety as this keeps the body in an
alert shape of responding to life issues. Apprehension and tension are together, typical responses
to push or pressure. For some individuals, notwithstanding, this issue can turn out to be intense
to the point that it really meddles with their capacity to perform well on a test. So what causes
test nervousness? For some students, it can be a blend of things, another study suggests, poor
past test execution and fundamental uneasiness issues would all be able to add to test anxiety
and therefore, they classified the causes of test anxiety into categories of natural and mental
causes.

In serious tension circumstances, for example, before and amid an exam, the body discharges
a hormone called adrenaline. This readies the body to manage what is going to happen and is
normally alluded to as a biological- chemical reaction in response to tension. Basically, this
reaction sets you up to either stay and manage the anxiety or break the circumstance completely.
In a lot of cases, this adrenaline surge is really something to be thankful for. It sets you up to
bargain viable with unpleasant circumstances like test scenarios, guaranteeing that you are ready
and prepared. For some individuals, in any case, the manifestations of uneasiness they feel can
turn out to be excessive to the point that it makes it troublesome or even difficult to concentrate
on the test and examinations issued to them. Side effects, for example, sweating, and shaking
hands can really make individuals feel considerably more apprehensive, particularly in the event
that they get to be engrossed with test uneasiness indications.
Notwithstanding the basic natural causes on nervousness, there are numerous mental
variables that can assume a part in test tension. For instance, if a student trusts that she will
perform inadequately on an exam, she is much more inclined to wind up restless before and
amid a test and this can serve as a threat to her performance as well. Also, Bobby (2010) stated
that medical researchers express that mental reasons for nervousness are to a great extent
obscure;
nonetheless, persons inclined to tension issue may create them in light of traumatic life in most
cases. Some physiological reasons for uneasiness incorporate issues of disease infections like
diabetes, coronary illness, premenstrual disorder, bad tempered disorder, asthma and uncommon
sorts of tumors. He further discovered achievements in treating a restless patient using capable
antibiotics. The patient's restless side effects came as a consequence of low levels of good
microscopic organisms in her digestive tract and were alleviated by expanding the measures of
good microorganisms. Furthermore, researchers have reported that researchers have additionally
found a connection between strep throat bacterium and excessive tension issue and do believe
that there is a possible connection between anxiety and bacterial infection, though no
researchers have been made in this direction. Do bacterial infection cause test anxiety among
students?
In the view of Mcdonald (2001), he believed that lack of motivation among test takers do
result to anxiety in most cases. He further stressed that test should be administered in a way that
eliminates fear among students and this is achievable through a pre-test motivation strategy
which is aimed at reassuring the students on the test. In his explanation of a pre-test motivation
strategy, he demonstrated the need for test takers to be motivated and encouraged before or
during the examination. He also pointed out that teachers or test administrators should take time
out to enlighten test takers on the need for taking a particular test and reassuring them of your
desire for all to do well. This reassurance serves as a motivational tool towards boosting self-
esteem and confidence before any examinations. Sage (2014) agrees that teachers should
develop a habit of motivating the students before and during examinations as examinations do
not mean to scare away the student rather add to his/her wealth of knowledge which will help
learner in the outside environment. He suggested that brief symposiums on examinations should
be organized for the students before test taking as he believed that this orientation will create a
reassurance among the students and stimulate them to do better. He also said that academic
calendar should be planned in a way that gives the students adequate time for study as
inadequate study time can also result in issues of test anxiety among students.
It is assumed that lack of adequate study time can result in a situation where students study
for an exam under a limited period of time and due to this cannot study well and do well in the
exam. Wang (2013) believed that lack of academic study time that allows the students to study
very well and prepare for test/examination can result in poor academic performance among
students. He believed that the academic calendar should always be planned in a way that
 allocates lots of study time to students to study.in contrast to this, Salend (2012) said that most
educational institutions especially the private ones are mostly for profit maximization and not
for students’ welfare. He further stated that education being for change in character and learning
and as a tool for self-empowerment should not be planned rigidly the way the school does.
Examinations are planned in a way that the school wants at the detriment of the students who
then panic and suffer poor academic performance atlas. He believed that if the teacher spends
three months teaching a particular lesson, for proper comprehension of what is being taught,
students should be given more than three months to study and apply what they have being
taught. However, comparing the assertion of Salend (2012) and Wang (2013), they both
believed that lack of adequate study time does contribute to a feeling of anxiety among
student, though in different perspectives. They believed that students poor academic
performance can be adjured to lack of study time which in most cases is planned at the
detriment of the students by educational administrators who are poised to maximize profit at any
level. These two assumptions in a way suggest that enough study time should be given to the
students which will allow them to study and prepare very well for examinations which in
most cases is not given to them. Thus, it is believed that lack of enough study time makes the
student to fidget and show signs of
nervousness before and during examinations.

2.2.3 Influence of Test Anxiety On Academic Performance

It is assumed that a correlation exists between test anxiety and academic performance.
According to Parviz and Minoo (2010),they believed that a direct correlation exists between test
anxiety and academic performance of EFL learners in Iran. He further discovered that test
familiarity creates no correlation between test anxiety and the way students perform in
academics which did not suggest that students never experience anxiety upon taking a
test/examination for the first time rather tends to exhibit more confidence when taking the same
test again. They believed that test familiarity reduces test anxiety as observation showed that
students show a level of anxiety during test scenarios which were evident in their respective
academic performances. Andrew (2004) do believe that students who experience anxiety during
the examination are bound to have poor results. He carried out a study on the influence of test
anxiety on college students and experimented with a group of college students. He divided the
students into two groups, the first group he created a conducive atmosphere for examination
while the other group he induced anxiety-factors while administering the examination. He
discovered that the result of the first group of student showed that 75% of them had high scores
while in the second group of students 32% of the students had a low score. He further stated that
the results were an indication that test anxiety and other related factors might be the reason for
poor academic performance, though it was evident that anxiety, tension, and fear do contribute
to poor academic performance among students.
Also in a study carried out by David and Karen (2004), it was found that the over-emphasis
on grades in most higher institutions has made students lose passion for education as a result of
poor grades and anxiety associated with the examination. They suggested that examination
should be for the better of the students rather than the judgmental tool for making decisions
regarding students’ academic performance. However, Diana (2003) stated that academic
institutions cannot function without proper evaluation through test and examination. She further
stated that examinations are very important because they assist the students in meeting up to
educational standards. What if the students have higher standards as compared with the
standards set by the school? If the statement of Diana was to be the focal point towards
educational excellence, a student with high standards will be disappointed. This argument is in
line with the position of Sudbury democratic educational system which suggests that students
should be allowed to decide what to learn, when and how to learn it. Here, the model suggests
that students should not be decided for rather the school should serve as a tool of guidance for
the student towards self-realization and actualization, which helps in bring out the best in the
students. According to Norman (2002), evaluation through examinations does breed anxiety
among the students. He seriously believes that students’ grades are not a priority in evaluation
rather how the students intend to react to world issues through intuitive thinking is important as
that makes students of service to humanity.
In this study carried out by Rodriguez (2012) He analyzed the effect of students' test tension
also, instructors' assessment on students' accomplishment also, an inspiration to learn in an
exploration techniques course. Students with low and high test uneasiness were presented to two
sorts of assessment practices to determine their anxiety levels. After medications were directed,
the student’s accomplishment and inspiration levels were measured. The researcher found that
students with an inclination toward test nervousness do not accomplish at a lower level than do
students who are not normally testing restless. Actually, the researcher additionally found that
the identity attribute of test tension collaborates with the classroom variable of evaluative risk to
influence students’ accomplishment. In particular, the accomplishment levels of exceptional test
on edge students are unfavorably influenced by classroom conditions that are seen as
exceptionally evaluative. That finding proposes that students who are more test restless are
fundamentally more delicate to situations in which tensions are induced furthermore, educator
control is clear on students who are less inclined to test uneasiness. Moreover, the research
demonstrated that all students, in any case of their propensities toward test uneasiness,
accomplish all the more inadequately under states of high evaluative danger. At the end of the
day, classroom circumstances in which students see the need to rival each other and in which
educators apply measures of reducing tension do yield positive result. When all is said in done,
students who are distinctively test on the edge are not pretty much roused to learn than are
students who are not inclined toward test uneasiness. In any case, students with high test
nervousness are fundamentally less spurred in classrooms as profoundly evaluative than are
students with low test tension and all students in less evaluative classrooms. At long last, despite
their inclinations toward test uneasiness, all students are more persuaded to learn in classroom
settings considered less evaluative than ones with high competitive nature determined through
examinations and testing. The discoveries of this study imitate those of past studies since they
show that test nervousness and evaluative danger regularly collaborate to influence students'
accomplishment in the classroom. Moreover, this study demonstrates the malicious impacts of
profoundly evaluative classroom circumstances for all students, paying little attention to their
inclinations toward test nervousness. This concentrate additionally develops past discoveries by
illustrating the intelligent impacts of the learner test nervousness and its influence on the
academic performance of the student. Researcher disclosed that all students, especially test on
edge students, perform ineffectively and are less propelled when presented to exceptionally
evaluative classrooms which offer a vital thought for advanced education educators. To help
students face course content and stay persuaded to learn, college and school educators may
decrease their control over classroom systems and the degree to which students see each test as a
rival to each other. As a base, educators ought to consider the effect of very evaluative
instructive situations on students' accomplishment
According to Stephen Krashen in his natural method of language acquisition, keeping
affective filter low is paramount in second language classroom. He maintained that low affective
filter creates a conducive environment for learning and makes the students more relaxed during
lessons. It was gathered from that hypothesis that high level of affective filter creates a degree of
nervousness/fear among students which is not required in language learning. He further pointed
out that nervousness and anxiety do not allow the students to contribute in class as well as
participate in classroom interactions and task. Damer and Melendres (2011) stated that
educational administrator understands the impact of an un-conducive academic environment on
student especially with regards to learning the outcome. They further stated that this has led to
the proper planning of school environment in a way that creates an atmosphere of warmth and
peacefulness within its vicinity. This to an extent shows that there is the little or great impact of
test anxiety on students wellbeing.
In the view of Putwain et al. (2011) they observed that test anxiety has a remarkable impact
on test scores of primary school students in cognizance of individual differences. They further
explained that in a research carried out by primary school students on test anxiety, a class was
divided into three groups; first was a group of unintelligent students, the second mixture of
intelligent and unintelligent students and finally the last group of intelligent students. These
students were kept in a classroom with artificially induced fear, nervousness, administer with
examinations and were observed. The test results indicated that 12% of the first group had high
test grades,10.5% of the second group had high test grades while 13.2% of the third group had
high test grades respectively. From the results, it was evident that the difference in the grades
was not much indicating that regardless of students’ intelligent quotient, test anxiety does have
an impact on test grades of students.
This observation is in line with the recommendation of Ergene (2003) that towards dealing
with issues of test anxiety among students,psychologist, and educational researchers should not
always focus on the impact of test anxiety on a student without other likely variables that are
possible to affect students’ academic performance as well. He posited that other variables like
individual differences and other personal factors can other be considered as possible issues of
interest to researchers towards dealing with test anxiety. He firmly believed that intelligent
quotient and students individual differences can only contribute to anxiety and possible poor
academic performance of students. His views are in line with the aforementioned test carried out
in a classroom of students divided according to their intelligent quotient and tested. Hancock
(2001) stated that previous test results, lack of study, psychological issues, cognitive disability
can also contribute to anxiety among students and possible reasons to develop fear during test
situation. These and much more he believed were areas to research on which will help create an
understanding on this issue of test anxiety and academic performance. He suggested that these
research will elucidate more on the test anxiety and learn outcome which will help tackle the
ideologies behind evaluation in school, he believed that these ideas are the root of several moves
by individuals and groups towards erasing test/examinations in school. He maintained that
though test anxiety has a reasonable impact on students’ academic performance, other variables
do also contribute to anxiety among students and a possible impact on their academic
performances as well. Nelson and Harwood (2011) aligned with this view and believed that the
study of the relationship between anxiety and performance can be understood by using a Law,
which demonstrates that test anxiety alone is not the major cause of poor academic performance
rather other aspects of the child and evaluation process needs to be taken into account. He
further stated that the law hinges on the effects of arousal on performance. Where one can see
the facilitating and debilitating effects of arousal on performance as an inverted "U”. An
example of this correlation can be seen in terms of a child taking a test where the degree of
arousal or anxiety that the child portrays can be seen as beneficial to the performance rather than
disadvantageous. Though, if the child doesn't have a feeling or fear or failure or some sort of
encouragement to perform well on the test, then the child is unlikely to put the necessary energy
into preparing or being motivated when taking the test and so he or she will not perform to their
fullest potential as prepared.
In addition to this, Mowbray (2012) agreed that anxiety reactions can be generalized from
previous experiences to testing situations. Feelings of inadequacy, doubt, anticipations of
punishment or loss of self-esteem may increase anxiety levels. Interestingly, persons who score
high on anxiety scales tend to describe themselves in negative, and this format can assist in
indicating students with high and low anxiety rates or levels which this study intends to examine
as well.

2.2.4. Reducing Test Anxiety Among EFL Learners

Mandler and Sarason (1957) believe that feelings of tension develop in order to prepare a
person for threats physically, behaviorally, preparing him or her for life issues and this helps
learners to notice and deal with threats to survival. They believed that the mind as a powerful
tool may work either for you or against you. They believed that test situations are best scenarios
that prepare the students for life survival, though it's arguable that people survival with or
without stress. They were of the opinion that test anxiety can be controlled with an attitude
adjustment enabling the learner or the test taker to understand that test does not intend to
intimidate the learner rather a form of preparation in life issue-this they supposed should help
learner in life after school.
Wren and Benson (2004) suggested the following study tip; Setting up your study objectives
and approach slowly and carefully to not overpower yourself rather to gradually give you access
to the test to be taken. Permit yourself a lot of time to finish every one of the things you need to
do before the test. Develop certainty by looking into the material much of the time, in little
squares of time every day for a few days before a test as this keeps you in touch with what is to
be taught. In the event that you are feeling uneasiness building, attempt one of the
accompanying anxiety buster activities that are intended to help reduce the level of tension in
you. He recommended the following stress buster activities for students;

He encouraged the students to take part in steady relaxing for 2-5 minutes. Closing your eyes
focusing and broadcasting live ongoing all through your lungs. Taking long, full breaths, which
helps to fill your lungs and guts, holding your breath, which is breathed out afterward. Strained
and unwind diverse muscle bunches. For instance, if your shoulders are strained force them
back and hold them for a few moments or minutes, then unwind them gradually. This will help
you to know about the unwinding of muscles and help you to unwind more in order to ease
yourself. In addition, take part in guided symbolism for a couple of minutes. Pick a scene that
you discover quiet, delightful, and regular. Consider what you see, what you listen, what you
feel and what you smell while in this scene. Attempt to depict the tension. Center your
consideration on your tension and consider the emotions it causes: How extensive is it? Where
is it situated in your body? What are its shading, its shape, and its composition? On the off
chance that you can totally encounter a physical sensation it will frequently vanish. Oxygen
consuming activity will help you to discharge anxiety and overabundance vitality and,
subsequently, decrease body strain. These techniques are in line with Nassau (2001) who
suggested that relaxation techniques are steps to reducing to minimal the issue of test anxiety.
He further posited that student with such feelings of anxiety should always practice relaxation
before and after examinations. Wren and
Benson also further suggested that students should take part in positive self-talk which includes
reasoning about sound reactions to counter negative considerations, they believed that these
personal conversations assist the students in getting out of the test a bit helping to ease tension
by focusing on another issue.

According to Rosen (1987), he believed that students should arrive before the actually
arranged time so you can sit where you are most agreeable, and stay away from individuals who
are restless and might make you question your insight or capability. When you get the test look
it over, read the headings twice, and afterward compose you time effectively. Try not to hurry
through the test, pace and don't stress over how far along your colleagues are on the test. You
might need to enjoy a relieve for a couple of minutes amid the test and attempt them. Get a
beverage of water and attempt to clear your brain. Move on to less demanding inquiries or
questions on the off chance that you feel puzzled by one; you can backtrack to it in the event
that you have time. Eat something or bite gum as a tension diversion. Ask the teacher for
explanations on the off chance that you are not clear about the wording of a question. Consider
post-exam rewards for a moment as an approach to rouse yourself.
In agreement with this suggestion above Macleod and Mathew (2012) stated that there are
three principle regions, students can make use of it to lessen test nervousness when it starts
to meddle with test execution. They believed that mental arrangement is an essential worry in
managing test tension. Prior to the exam the students can do a few things like Be altogether
arranged. A certain information obviously materials is the initial phase in decreasing test
uneasiness. Surveying the material is vital. The survey is fine yet attempting to cover two
months of material in two hours is not a successful approach to get ready for an exam. Start your
audit procedure early. This likewise will help to decreases a minute uneasiness. Lateness just
purposes more push! Unwind and do not discuss the test with companions or different students
in order to avoid distractions. Likewise, don't sit close anybody who appears to be on edge, as it
will just serve to make you more on edge.
They further stated that in the exam, a student ought to be test-wise and have an arrangement
for taking a test. Some underlying pressure is believed to be ordinary. For the most part, when
you get a test, stop for a minute, take a few full breaths, unwind, and afterward begin looking
into bearing and test. Also before the test, make a timetable for noting questions. Permit more
time for a higher point question. Knowing how well you are advancing will dispose of
nervousness about whether or not you will complete the exam. Try not to spend an excessive
amount of time on any inquiry. Higher scores will as a rule result from attempting all things. On
the off chance that you get confused on an inquiry or arrangement of inquiries, move onto
questions you can reply. This will get your mental procedure and fixation prepared for more
troublesome inquiries. They also suggested that physical readiness is a second vital territory to
consider in decreasing test tension. Before the exam, students ought to grow great study
propensity and systems. Satisfactory sustenance and rest are imperative to any part of the study
program, particularly before an exam. At the point when individuals are drained, they ended up
baffled all the more effectively and experience more uneasiness. Amid the exam discover a spot
where you will have some security, one that is sufficiently bright and agreeable which will not
warrant distraction in any way. Bring those supplies essential for the exam in order to to be very
ready, for example, a number cruncher, pens, and so on abstain from sitting close to the
entryway or other high diversion places. Unwinding is a third way students can diminish tension
as earlier on mentioned. Regarding mental and physical readiness, unwinding before and amid
the exam can help in maintenance and enhance test execution. At the point when a man is on
edge, his/her body turns out to be physically strained. Unwinding evacuates pressure and in this
way lessens nervousness and tension, the more profound the unwinding, the more noteworthy
the diminishment in uneasiness. There are a few things you can do to accomplish a condition of
unwinding preceding an exam. Go for a walk. Permit satisfactory time before the exam to go for
a walk. Clear your mind as you walk and appreciate the feeling of unwinding. Abstain from
examining the test with anybody particularly kindred, cohorts or friends as that as it served to
fuel uneasiness. Take a progression of 10 full breaths, holding every breath for 10 seconds.
Gradually discharge your breath. While sitting or resting, strained all the muscles in your body.
Hold the strain for a considerable length of time. Discharge, let your muscles unwind totally.
Rehash, as required until you feeling feel less restless and more profound feeling of unwinding.
Stretch. Extending your muscles stimulates the body and is essential towards stimulating your
brains and getting set for the examinations, particularly when there is panic.
Various forms of relaxation training have been used to mitigate the effects of anxiety, which
assist in adjusting the attitude of learner towards test taking and keep learner more relaxed.
Zuercher-White (1998) stated that two particular techniques, deep breathing and muscle
relaxation, have been shown to decrease anxiety levels in individuals who have difficulty
relaxing in very tense situations. These techniques gear towards increasing individuals increased
focus on the task at hand, especially in test and examination issues. He further defined deep
breathing as slow, from-the-diaphragm inhalation and exhalation that assists to balances out the
oxygen and carbon dioxide rates in the body. Using this technique, it is important that air
breathes through the nose and exhaled through the mouth. In response to this feeling, the body
will react with less severe symptoms in a time of high anxiety or panic, especially during test or
examination scenarios. He further recommended that when training individuals on how to use
this technique, it’s important to pre-inform them of the essence of the and the outcomes which
will create a relaxed state of mind among the individuals especially when used by students. This
is an essential warm-up exercise for students before examinations.
According to Paul, Elam and Verhulst (2007), A study was conducted two years ago with
sixty-four students in order to investigate perceived experience of test anxiety, the students were
taught to use these aforementioned techniques to reduce their anxious feelings. Self-reports were
given after the study and it indicated that they felt less test anxious, relaxed, and more confident
after the exercise which helped them to focus more on the task ahead. Similarly, Nassau (2001)
stated that Progressive muscle relaxation is a process that helps the body relax, and now could
be a therapy for anxiety individuals especially students. This therapy involves decreasing the
physiological parts of anxiety while causing the individual to be distracted from their awareness
of anxious states. Students need to be encouraged to redirect their focus on the aftermath of
examination and re-focus on other things which will help reduce issues of anxiety, especially
during examinations.
Rashid and Parish (1998) conducted a study which was intended to examine the effects of
two types of relaxation training with 55 high school students’ levels of anxiety using an
experimental control group design. Results showed that both behavioral relaxation and
progressive muscle relaxation methods which were the techniques used for the study produced
significantly lower anxiety scores in the experimental group as compared to the control group.
This was an indication that students experience anxiety in education which can be reduced
through these techniques. In this study, it was also advised that psychological therapist should
be employed in the school system who will be responsible for controlling anxiety levels of
students through these aforementioned techniques. They believed that through this techniques,
anxiety can be reduced
to minimal which will impact on academic performance of students through positive educational
outcomes. Zaichkowsky & Zaichkowsky (1984) discovered that children as young as nine years
of age can learn stress control within a period of six weeks or less. This suggests that if children
are taught this measures at childhood, the issue of anxiety during or after the test will be a
forgone issue presently. They posited that children were taught progressive muscle to control
physiological arousal. After this exercise, they further discovered that psychological responses
of the children to anxiety reduced to minimal-an experience that can be exploited by educational
administrators in handling the issue of test anxiety in schools. In a more recent study, Lohaus
and Klein-Hessling (2003), used progressive muscle relaxation in an effort to reduce text
anxiety in one hundred and 60 -fourth- and sixth-grade students. They found that when this
technique is applied appropriately to students, it’s liable to have a calming effect on students
especially children over time. This study reaffirms the study of Zaichkowsky et al. (1984) which
suggest that relaxation techniques where are means of controlling psychological arousal among
young learners. These results suggested that children are capable of learning relaxation
techniques over a relatively short period of time and this can help in reducing anxiety in schools.
It is clear from previous research with both young adults and children, relaxation techniques can
reduce test anxiety and thus should be introduced in schools for these purposes.
Carter, Williams, & Silverman, (2008) was of the opinion that high-stakes testing appears to
be the ‘norm in the American schools and children need the help of psychologist to tackle the
adverse behavioral, and physiological effects of these norm on students which are thereby an
indication that “test as a norm “affects academic performances of the students. Considering
these results, the results of the present study along with previous work demonstrate that children
can benefit from relaxation training as a means of combating test anxiety among students with
the sole intention of improving academic performances of test takers. These findings may have
implications for psychological intervention in schools as guidance and counselors of schools
need to reorient students on taking the examination and test towards developing a positive
attitude towards test and examination. Duncan (2009) was of the opinion that counseling
sections should be organized for students before any crucial exam so as to reassure the students
on the examination. He further suggested that teachers can as well function as psychologist and
counselors in this area by educating the students on the need for evaluation and giving assurance
concerning their individual performances thereafter. He also stated that the issue of test anxiety
was a reason why the united stated education board spearheaded the “Race to the Top”
competition where they challenged states to devise educational reform plans that will curb the
issue of test anxiety during a test scenario. Based on these proposed reforms it is suggested that
data systems, linking teacher evaluations either inform of assignments or portfolios to student
gains will become the focal point of assessment which will center on the gains of the students
after the lesson. Was there an influence of knowledge at the end of the lessons? What were
students’ achievement after the lesson/at the end of the program, what is the state of a student
presently? Has the learner improved in character and learning? What did the learner learn?
These and many more questions will assist in ascertaining the outcomes of classroom learning
rather than test and examinations that cause anxiety among students.
Triplett & Barksdale, (2005) stated that Despite proposed educational reforms it is unlikely
that high-stakes testing will be eliminated or reduced in time to come. Schools can play a role in
addressing test anxiety by using the aforementioned suggested intervention programs such as
relaxation training, take-home test, and final exam projects into the curriculum and as a means
of evaluation. Cheek, Bradley, Reynolds, & Coy, (2002) agreed that School counselors and
teachers should have a scheduled time of the day to teach students how to respond to
physiological and psychological responses to anxiety and stress through the utilization of
relaxation training. These interventions techniques can be implemented in the academic
environment to mediate anxiety. Another implication of this research is to alert administrators,
and educate parents, teachers that children are experiencing adverse effects from having
pressure to perform in examinations and that there is a need to address this with children and
learners at large which will guarantee positive learning outcome of students.
Cheek et al. (2002) reemphasized the need for Principals, administrators, and teachers to
train children how to respond to stress and anxiety and thus impact children’s responses to
pressure and anxiety towards better academic performance in the future. If performance anxiety
is not addressed in elementary school or EFL classrooms, it could continue through the adult
years and impact the quality of life and career paths. Miller, Morton, Driscoll, & Davis, (2006).
Posted that the tone that the school sets can have an effect on student performance and anxiety,
and ultimately their love for learning, impacting positively on their academic performance or
negatively. This also implies that if the school set a pace that focuses and emphasizes on test
and examination as tool for student evaluation and teacher decision, then students who cheat,
memorize before examinations or drop out of school due to lack of motivation to learn should
not be blame because it is assumed that the pace the schools’ sets for the student are what they
follow which has an impact on general school performance.
Aligning with this view, Triplett & Barksdale, (2005) were of the opinion that A warm and
energetic environment can elicit greater success and psychological balance in children, which in
turn guarantee better improvement in academic performances. Principals have the responsibility
to lead their school to success on testing in order to continue to receive school funding, national
and international recognitions. The principals in effect, give teachers the responsibility to
promote desired results on testing which becomes a prove of quality for the school. It is true
that, as a result of this, teachers experience pressure to produce high test scores which relate to
their job security. Consequently, this causes teachers to feel dis-empowered, anxious. It is
important for future research to determine whether children are impacted by the levels of stress
and anxiety that they perceive in their principals and teachers. Parents and teachers’
expectations may agree with students’ anxiety. Future research is required to empirically
investigate the anxiety levels of teachers, principals and parents are needed to understand the
impact it has on school children which will also help in dealing with this issue of tension among
students.
Nevertheless, it’s important that students need to be reassured during examinations, other
mediums of evaluation should be made use of also. These methods like take home test, projects,
final assignment, open book test can assist in reducing the issue of anxiety among student which
has a considerable impact on their academic performance. During examinations, students can be
further clarified on the test questions and further guide on giving the required answer. Students
can forget in class but a reminder can call back a lot that the student already knows but due to
anxiety cannot write or remember them during examinations. These and many other ways can
administrators imbibe towards reducing to minimal this issue of test anxiety among students.

2.2.5. Ways of Improving Evaluation to Improve Academic performance

According to Black (2005), Performance in schools is increasingly judged on the basis of
effective learning outcomes and Information which is critical to knowing whether the school
system is delivering good performance and providing feedback for improvement in student
outcomes or rather lagging behind as a result of unknown factors. In all countries, there is
widespread recognition that evaluation and assessment frameworks are essential tools to
building
stronger school systems that produce world class citizen. Countries also emphasize the
importance of seeing evaluation as a means and not as ends in themselves, not as ends that tend
to judge and criticize the student or introduce fear into the student rather as important tools for
achieving improved academic performance among students.
Paulson (2010) believed that Different assessment policies and practices influence students'
motivation, effort, learning styles and perceptions of self-efficacy as well as teaching practices,
thus assessment whether summative or formative should be constructed and administered in a
way that will assist in positive learning outcome not a tool for judgment or a means to test
anxiety among test takers. These are serious impacts that evaluation/assessment could have on
the test takers especially the students. Most evaluations either in standardized should follow
proper construct which is administered in a way that does not induce fear or cause test anxiety.
Soffer (2008) defined external assessment as standardized examinations that are designed
and scored outside individual schools which normally takes the form of a written test. The major
advantage of external assessment is its high reliability as these tests are constructed to a high
standard. It ensures that all students are assessed on a particular task which is similar and that
their results measured by the same standards as well. Moreover, external assessment is usually
conducted in supervised conditions which ensure that the work being assessed has actually been
done by the student which is the major setback of this practice. Teel (2015) was of the opinion
that this supervised condition for this examination creates a tense atmosphere for examination
and thus is liable to breed anxiety, nervousness and fear among the students which can as well
create bias in the test scores. Conducive learning atmosphere should continue even during
evaluation so that evaluations does not suggest war or judgment to the students.
However, most educational researchers do assume that external assessment is often criticized
for having lower validity than teacher-based assessment. Zeindner (1998) stated that this form of
assessment tends to be in a written pattern under supervised conditions so that only a limited
range of curriculum or lessons can be covered. He further stated that the risk is that teachers
may end up focusing on test-taking skills which do show other aspects of learning on the student
which has improved over time. In standards-based systems, Daniel and Sheila (1998) stated that
governments set standards for student to achieve, clearly defining the knowledge which the
students are expected to have attained at various levels of their education and when students do
not meet up to such standards at a limited time of study, wrong evaluation can be made. They
further buttressed their point through this example; A student is expected to study a course that
is taught for four months only for three weeks. If the teacher uses four months to teach a
particular course, then the student being taught requires more time to study such a course or
lesson. Lack of study time can also contribute to issues of test anxiety and poor grades. This is
an issue to ponder on.
Hubert (2009), believed that The main logic of standards-based systems rests upon these key
elements. If the assessments do not well match the curriculum and the standards, then results
have little value in judging how well students are learning in schools and in checkmating school
or student needs whereas these standards set by external bodies might conflict with the standards
the students intend to achieve while in school! What happens if the students have a standard
higher than that which is set by an external body for students? Hence, policy needs to give
considerable attention to good strategies to assess the performance of students against standards-
standards that might be lower than what the students intends to achieve. He also suggested that
Another possible strategy is to develop teacher capacity to assess against standards, provide
detailed guidelines on marking assessments which do not stress on standards rather one that
strengthen moderation processes between teachers and students toward creating an atmosphere
of decorum during testing periods.
An important policy challenge is the construction of student final assessment which seeks to
provide a conclusive statement of student achievement at a particular point in time rather a
judgemental kind of assessment that simply breeds anxiety in the student which usually ends up
in poor test grades. Salend (2011) believed that other forms of assessment like the teacher-based
assessment can be used in the educational evaluation. He further explained that teacher-based
assessment can be referred to as continuous assessment that is designed and/or scored by the
students’ own teachers. It is conducted internally in the classroom and counts towards a final
grade or evaluation of the student. Teacher-based final assessment may include different types
of assessment such as teacher-made tests, classroom-embedded assignments, project work and
personal and personal contributions to a field of knowledge during lessons. He also believed that
the use of assignments, project work, presentations and final exam project can also be a way of
assisting eliminate these issues of anxiety that examination breeds.
Typically, teacher-based assessment is assumed to have higher validity than external
assessment. Supon (2004) agrees with this assertion and adjures it to its continuous nature,
measuring other innate abilities of the students as well other than examinations. Teacher-based
assessment often allows for important achievements to be measured that could not be captured
in a final examination, such as extended projects, practical assignments or oral work and
students’ contribution to the field of knowledge which is paramount in education rather than
judging students through series of radicalize test, supervised under serious unconducive
atmosphere that not only breed test anxiety but affect academic performance of the student as
well.
However, in the opinion of Teel (2010), teacher-based assessments are often perceived as
unreliable because test items and grading standards may vary widely between teachers and
schools so that the results of the internal assessment may be seen as unreliable and cannot be
compared across schools. Here students learning ability are compared and standards set, which
creates more bias in evaluation present education as a judgemental tool for the learner.
Jackendoff (2011) disagrees with his assertion and believes that the best way of evaluating
students is through teacher base assessment which is constructed to meet with test objectives
and administered in a way that does not breed the fear among the students. He further believed
that teacher-based assessment does not need to meet with external standards of school as far as
learning is being achieved which can be measured not through external examination rather
through change in character and learn as well, which are the hallmark of world education, this
he believes prepares the student towards life experiences and equips them towards becoming
global citizens.
Weems, Scott, Brandon, Taylor, and Leslie (2011) indicates that a combination of teacher-
based and external assessments would be most suitable to ensure maximum validity and
reliability. They also suggested, strategies to improve the reliability of teacher-based assessment
to include using scoring guides, negotiated scoring criteria with the students, training for
teachers, multiple judgments and external moderation throughout the stages of evaluation to
reduce tension in students. Another approach is to develop on-demand assessments, where
teachers can take an assessment from a central bank of assessment tasks asking students to take
the assessment when they consider ready and not a compulsion on the part of the student. This
aligns with the demands of Sudbury democratic model of education which suggest that students
should be allowed freedom to what, when, and how to learn.
According to Black(2005), he believed that countries can also consider developing “complex
assessments” which combine performance-based assessments with standardizing assessments.
performance-based assessments are better able to capture complex student performances, such
as reasoning and problem-solving skills which make the student a better academic personality
and brings out the hidden in them via which they can contribute their quota of learning to this
field of knowledge while standardize assessments increase the reliability of results.
Huberty (2009) suggests that an additional strategy is the development of test banks, which
allows teachers to choose from centrally developed assessments. These tests may provide more
detail and be delivered in a timelier fashion so that teachers may use the results as formative.
Weems et al were of the opinion that closer integration of final assessment can also be achieved
through ensuring that teacher evaluation and school evaluation respectively assess student’s
inner abilities which might not be visible through tension examinations. All these strategies are
towards eliminating the issue of bias in evaluations in order to assist erode anxiety among
students and register a better academic performance.
Wikipedia sets the following as standards for student evaluation which are;
1. The Propriety standards help and ensure that student evaluations are conducted
lawfully, ethically, and with regard to the rights of students
2. The Utility standards promote the design and implementation of informative, timely,
and useful student evaluations.
3. The Feasibility standards help ensure that student evaluations are practical; viable;
cost-effective, and culturally, and politically ok.
4. The Accuracy standards help ensure that student evaluations will provide accurate,
and credible information about student learning and performance.
According to Pogrow (1996) educational reform has produced disappointing results or
outright failure. Fullan (1996) noted which of the reasons for the failure of systemic reforms is
fragmentation. He stated that fragmentation occurs when the pressures and even the
opportunities for reform work are a misunderstanding or seem disjointed and incoherent.
According to Bascia and Hargreaves, (2000) Other reasons for the failure of systemic reforms
are that reform efforts are implemented too quickly, from enormous directions, and without
regard incidentally how the reform effort and the subsequent changes will affect teachers Thus,
reform efforts fail. One example of misunderstanding disjointed, and incoherent reform that is
poor in schools on a regular basis is as follows: changing school policy for a given innovative
teacher program, providing some level of staff development on the prospective innovation,
ostensibly implementing the innovative practice, and ability to use existing evaluation practices.
When reform efforts are disconnected from assessment, there is the rejection to measure success
in the reform effort. Such a disconnect is a formula for failure and does affect evaluation too. A
conceptually sound and properly implemented evaluation system for teachers is a vital
component of successful reform efforts. A rational relationship exists between personnel and
programs: If program effectiveness is important and if personnel are necessary for effective
programming, then a conceptually sound and properly implemented evaluation system for ...
education personnel is essential towards balancing the needs of teachers and the needs of the
organization.
In the view of March & Simon (1992) A dynamic rapport between the teacher and the school
exists in a healthy organization: this rapport extends to what's adequate the organization must
also manage for the teacher. This type of synergistic connection enhances the ability of both the
teacher and the school to achieve desired goals even in the evaluation. Moreover, balancing
individual needs with institutional expectations is vital for fostering productive work
environments an organization’s beliefs about performance. Castetter (1996) explained that these
assumptions “form a basis for achieving integration of individual and organizational interests”
(p. 282). If the assumption is correct that individual and institutional goals are intertwined, then
it is logical to consider teacher evaluation as a vehicle to facilitate and assess success for both
the teacher and the school. Thus, teacher evaluation can and should be considered a vital part of
the total improvement restructuring efforts in education especially with regards to determining
learning outcomes through evaluations. Improvement can take numerous forms, including
improvement in performance of individual teachers, and other educators (administrators, support
personnel) improvement of programs and services to students, parents, and community;
improvement of evaluation and improvement of the school's ability to accomplish its mission.
Fostering improvement in teacher evaluation systems means balancing individual and
institutional demands. Little (1993) stated that "the language of reform underestimates the
intricate ways anywhere individual and institutional lives are interwoven" (p. 147). As Fullan
(1991) noted, "Combining individual and institutional development has its tensions, but the
message should be abundantly clear. You cannot have one without the other" (p. 349). In order
to accomplish personal and professional goals, the individual needs the institution. In order
to
accomplish organizational goals, the institution needs the individual and without this coherence
in the school system, evaluation tends not to achieve the desired outcome.

If that be the case, Sudbury of democratic education suggests that students should be allowed
to learn the way they want and what they want to learn. In this model of education, schools do
not perform and do not offer evaluations, assessments, asserting that they do not rate or judge
people and that school is not a judge; nor rather do they compare students to each other, or
compelling them to meet certain academic standards-what if the student have higher standard,
higher than what the school sets? Which is a solemn violation of the student's right to self-
determination.recognition of this will help the educational systems in realigning their strategies
towards meeting these self-deterministic objectives of the students which could possibly be the
way forward for improving evaluation and eradicating anxiety among students.

According to Sudbury schools (Riaz Institute of education and research.), this policy does not
cause harm to their students as they move on to life outside the school realizing and totally
pursuing their goals and learning to make their own way, setting their own standards and
scholastically meeting their own goals. The no grading and no-rating policy create an
atmosphere free of competition either for grades or to meet up with set standards of the school
rather engage in self-discovery and healthy interaction among fellow students which encourages
a positive cooperative environment among the student body and fosters education at large.

Also, the final stage of a Sudbury education usually is the graduation thesis. Here, each
student writes on the topic of how they have prepared themselves for adulthood and the life after
school which helps in determining the pathway a student intends to follow, upon which such
thesis is submitted to the Assembly, who reviews it and reexamines student’s goals and
academic success. The final stage of the thesis process is an oral defense given by the student in
which they open the floor for questions, challenges, and comments from all Assembly members.
This defense helps the student to discuss his/her believes with a jury who through questions and
suggestions redirect or realign the students’ thesis towards achieving students intended goal.
Most importantly is that students’ thesis usually a thesis in which the student never struggles
with. At the end, the Assembly votes by secret ballot on whether or not to award a diploma.
University education should be research oriented and if research is the case, a democratic style
or approach to teaching and evaluation should be adopted. Evaluation should be carried out but
on
the learning experiences of the student over time.at the end of the research study, such research
is evaluated according to its purpose and standard, not standards set by the school, which will
serve as a determinate to evaluate what the student has done. Paulson (2010) stated most school
especially universities has made evaluation a warfare whereby students have to battle in order to
meet up with standard`s set for them by the school which can be attained by the students
through various means like memorizing or copying from a colleague (cheating) which does not
translate to learning. Rather when students are allowed to study under an atmosphere that is
democratic in style controlled by the teacher, whereby the teacher observes students encourage
classroom interaction aimed at unveiling hidden attributes of students which in-turn assist the
teacher in the proper evaluation. This is the way forward for evaluation and will help in
improving learning outcomes and experiences respectively.

2.3. REVIEW OF RELATED EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON EFFECT OF TEST ANXIETY

ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.
Many empirical studies have emerged on test anxiety and its impact on academic
performances of a student in colleges and Tertiary institutions. Below are few empirical studies
carried out on test anxiety;
Lindsay (2002) carried out another research on the effect of test anxiety attention and
memory skills of undergraduate students. The study focused on eliciting information that will
assist in determining the extent at which test anxiety affect the attention and cognition of
undergraduate students. A large population size was considered for the study and due to this
large size of the population a reduced sample size of the population was chosen and used to
collect data. Thus, a well-structured questionnaire was employed and administered to twenty-
four undergraduate students in order to allow the student perform a cognitive task and measure
their level of test anxiety as well. The performed cognitive task was to assist in measuring the
attentive skills of the students through the introduction of false alarms. This false alarm, when
introduced, triggered the students to show their anxiety level and observations where noted
accordingly.
The findings of the study indicated that anxiety has a negative impact on attention and
memory skills of students who has high-test anxious status whereas students with low -test
anxious status showed the very low impact of test anxiety on their attention and memory skills.
She further stated that within these two groups, test anxiety had an impact regardless how
minimal it was on students which were capable of distorting their recall skills. Her findings
were in line with Eysenck, Santos Derek Shan’s (2007) assertion that test anxiety disturbs recall
of prior learning and thus degrade learning and affect the academic performance of students.
The study recommends that teachers should be careful in handling test situation and this should
have a slow steady approach to it. She further stated that services of an educational counselor
should be consulted before examination in order to relax the minds of the student before
commencing the examination itself.
Sarason (1984) carried out a study that focuses on stress anxiety and cognitive interference as
a reaction to test. The objective of the study was to the nature of test anxiety, its relationship to
performance and cognitive interference analyzed from attentions process standpoint. Interviews
and a well-constructed questionnaire were the instruments for data collection. The questionnaire
focused on different dimensions of reaction to test and as well as a proper description of their
psychometric properties as well. The data collected was analyzed according to the different
dimensions of test anxiety which include; worry, tension, test-irrelevant thinking, and
nervousness. These variables were compared with intellectual performance and cognitive
interference.
The study discovered that most students tend to react negatively to test situations which in
most case increases different dimensions of anxiety level causing possible cognitive blockage
among students. It was also gathered that intrusive thinking affects the academic performance of
students. The study thus recommended that intrusive thinking can be reduced by means of task-
focusing experimental conditions which will assist in reducing tensions generated through test
situations. The study recommended further studies on test anxiety to help stop the issue
especially with the effect it has on evaluation in the educational system.
Parviz and Minoo (2010) carried out a research on the impact of test anxiety on the academic
performance of Iranian EFL learners. This study focused on the degree at which test anxiety
affect engineering students. The population for the study was engineering students of Allameh
Tabatabai University, Tehran Iran. Who were undergraduate students enrolled in a bachelor of
the art program? Due to the large population size, a sample of one hundred and sixty-four
students was randomly selected, a well-structured questionnaire was the instrument for data
collection and analysis. These parameters were considered in constructing the questionnaire;
 1. Subscale that analyses level of test anxiety

2. Relationship between test-taking anxiety and test performance

3. Factor -loadings of anxiety based on exploratory factors analysis

The questionnaire was administered on face-to- face basis collected at 100% return rate and
analyzed. After data analysis, the result showed that L2 learners responded very low test anxiety
during test situation and because of this, no correlation existed between test anxiety and
academic performance of the students. Through the exploratory factor analysis, it was gathered
that respondents showed familiarity with test situations and at such became a major reason for
the low anxiety rate recorded. The study further suggested that since familiarity was a
contributory factor to low anxiety. The unfamiliarity of test which is a normal scenario in our
educational system will likely result in a high level of test anxiety among students The study
recommend that care should be taken in administering test as general test anxiety increases the
affective level of students and affect performance as well. These research reveals allot especially
in cases of getting the students to familiarize themselves with test situations, which will assist
lower anxiety levels of students before and after the test.
McDonald (2001) carried out a study on the prevalence and effect of test anxiety in school
children. The major aim of the study focused on carrying out a comparative analysis of the
effect of test anxiety among school children. The population for the study was school children in
college, due to the large population size, 10 percent of the population size was selected
randomly and used as the sample size for the study. A well-structured questionnaire was the
instrument for the study which was administered to the sample size and collected after
answering the questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed. Comparative analysis carried out
on the study revealed that test anxiety to an extent has a high effect on college students. These
effects range from lack of enthusiasm for academics, study and education in general. The
findings also claimed that students responded positively were test a take-home test was
administered to them rather than the school test situations. The findings also posited that a
correlation does exist between students’ academic performance and test anxiety.it further
explained the reason for the poor academic performance of students which was not due to lack
of study skill but due to issues of nervousness test situations generate. When compared
intelligent quotient with test anxiety, it
was discovered that intelligent quotient does not have an effect positively or negatively on test
anxiety.
To this end, it’s quite observable that test anxiety has a contributory effect on academic
performance of students and thus more research needs to be carried out on this area of
education. The researcher suggests that nervousness of students be considered when
administering the test in order to reduce their affective filter to the minimum. This will assist in
improving the concentration of students, create a learner conducive environment which will
assist in academic performance and proper evaluation of students.
Hong and Karstensson (2002) carried out a research on antecedents of state test anxiety. The
study focused on the role of various variables on the state of test anxiety among students. A
structural equation model of the relationship among state test anxiety and its possible
antecedents was tested in 298 college students who were enrolled in statistics courses. The
following variables in the model were determined which included gender, math ability, trait test
anxiety statistics course anxiety, statistics achievement and perceived test difficulty and state
test anxiety measured at the time the final exam was taking place. Data was analyzed and the
following findings were made.
The findings showed that Female students reported higher trait test anxiety and statistics
course anxiety than did males. Math ability had a positive relationship with statistics
achievement. Students with low math ability believed that statistics courses as difficult, which in
turn strongly influenced their level of anxiety towards statistics course. It was also discovered
that trait and worry had a direct effect on state worry but not on state emotional, and the same
pattern was recorded with trait–state emotional. Students reporting high statistics course anxiety
perceived the final exam as difficult; however, neither statistics achievement nor state test
anxiety was influenced by statistics course anxiety. Students' notion of statistics course
difficulty had a direct effect on their perception of test difficulty, which had significant direct
effects on both state worry and emotional related issues.

Larson, Ramahi, Conn, Estes, and Ghibellini (2010) carried out a research on possible ways
of reducing test anxiety among 3 rd-grade students through the use of implementation and
relaxation techniques. The purpose of this study was to reduce the negative effects of test
anxiety on these 3rd-grade students. The participants in this study consisted of 177 3rd grade
students at
two public elementary schools. Students at one school were taught relaxation techniques, while
students at the second school served as the control group, receiving no training. The both groups
were observed for months and records taken as well. Elevator breathing and guided relaxation
were the means used to measure and manage levels of anxiety. The results indicated that the
relaxation intervention had a significant impact in reducing test anxiety in the experimental
group as compared to the controlled group. However, no significant decrease in test anxiety was
found among the control group. This study reinforces the essence of this study for counselors,
parents, and teachers working with elementary students. The study further suggested that more
researchers be carried out on other possible means of curbing this issue of test anxiety in order
to boost the academic performance of students
Wachelka and Katz (2005) carried out a research on how to reduce test anxiety among high
schools and college students. Because test anxiety is common in older students with learning
disabilities, it is surprising that little research has been done on ways to reduce the anxiety and
tension these students experience in test situations. In this study, a random pretest–post-test
control group designed to examine the effect of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for reducing
test anxiety and improving academic self-esteem among students. The population for the study
included 27 students of high school and college students with learning disabilities. Before the
study began, they complained of test anxiety and showed an elevated score on the Test Anxiety
Inventory. Eleven students indicating 85% of the students completed the 8-week long treatment,
which consisted of progressive muscle relaxation, as well as training in study and test-taking
skills. Results gotten indicated that significant improvement in the treated group which was not
evident in an untreated control group compared to the control group, the treated group showed
significant reductions in test anxiety level among the students as well as improvement in study
skills and academic self-esteem of students.

2.4. Research Gap

The state of anxiety has caused more harm than good in education especially with young
learners in most colleges and universities. Many researchers believe that if young learners
experience this issue of anxiety at this stage of education, basically it would affect their
personality concept and thus reduce learning.
 The above empirical studies assisted in reviewing the literature on the effect of test anxiety
on the academic performance of EFL undergraduate students in a private university in Northern
Cyprus. The reviews are based on claims and assumptions of studies carried out or related to the
research. The literature was detailed in order to capture the purpose of the study with the sole
aim of bridging the gap for the study.
The review of the literature shows that test anxiety has not been investigated in Girne American
University thus, the study of test anxiety and its influence on academic performance intends to
assist in giving possible ways of reducing to minimal incidences of anxiety towards better
learning outcomes with respect to students’ academic performance.
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.1. Introduction
This chapter presents methods and procedures adopted for data collection, as well as
information of the participants, setting, research design and data analysis.

3.2. Research Design

The study adopted a mixed method research design consisting of structured questionnaires for
quantitative data and semi-structured interviews for collecting necessary qualitative data for the
study. This design studies a large or small population size through the use of questionnaires and
interviews. This research design was found appropriate for the present study as it assists the
researcher to collect necessary information about the perceptions of undergraduate ELT students
about test anxiety.

3.3. Participants
Participants for this study were undergraduate second year EFL at Girne American University
in North Cyprus. The participants comprised 62 students, consisting of 30 males and 32 females.
Also, 6 interview questions were used to interview from the ELT department.
Table 1 below shows population distribution of the male and female students who participated
in this study.

gender of the participants

Frequenc Percent Valid
y Percent
Males 30 48.4 48.4

Valid females 32 51.6 51.6

Total 62 100.0 100.0
3.4. Instrumentation
The instruments for this study were questionnaires and interviews, which were designed in
order to collect the necessary data. The questionnaire consists of 20 questionnaire items that
were adopted from Nist and Dielh (1990) which was modified by the supervisor to meet the
requirements of the study. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: Part 1 contained
questions regarding background information of the students, and Part 2 consisted of adopted
questionnaire items which aimed to elicit data regarding the perception of the participants about
test anxiety. A five-point Likert-type scale was used for the questionnaire items that were coded
as follows:
1. Never=5 points
2. Rarely=4 points

3. Sometimes= 3 points

4. Often=2 points

5. Always=1 point

3.5. Data Collection

Data were collected by the researcher through school visitation by the assistance of the
supervisor. In other words, the questionnaire was administered to students in a face to face
situation. Also, interviews were carried out in order to get further qualitative information from
the students concerning their perceptions about test anxiety.

3.6. Method of Data Analysis

Data collected for this study were analyzed using SPSS mean standard deviation to answer
the research questions through the difference in mean ratings on a cut-off point of 2.50 using a
five-point scale. This is an item with a mean rating of 2.50 and above was regarded to indicate
that test anxiety has an effect on students’ academic performance while mean responses less
than
2.50 suggested that test anxiety has no influence on students’ academic performance. Thematic
analysis was used for this study as it examines themes within data. Interviews were transcribed,
analyzed, and assertions were supported by data transcribed after the analysis

3.7. Anticipated Results and Summary

Recent researches which are liable to re-research have suggested that reduced affective filter
plays a paramount role in learning. Studies have indicated that test anxiety is an issue in our
educational system. The present research does foresee that students will not vary in their
responses to the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of students. The research
also foresees that results will indicate that a relationship exists between test anxiety and gender.
 CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Overview
This chapter presents the results of data analyses and discusses the findings of the study. The
findings were compared and contrasted with those of other related researches. As mentioned
before, a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for collecting data about students’
responses on the impact of test anxiety on their academic performance. The questionnaire was
distributed among 62 undergraduate EFL students in a private university in Northern Cyprus.
Additionally, some students were interviewed regarding their reflections on test anxiety
Therefore, the results consist of both quantitative and qualitative data.

4.2. Results of the Questionnaire Analysis

The responses to the first research question (i.e., What is the impact of test anxiety on
undergraduate EFL student academic test performance?) are discussed and presented below.
Table 4.1 shows frequency distribution of the questionnaire responses by the two groups of
students-low and high anxiety groups.
Table 2 Frequency distribution of questionnaire responses

Test anxiety categories Frequency Percentage

Low Anxiety 16 25.8
Valid High Anxiety 46 74.2
Total 62 100.0
This table indicates that 46 (74.2%)of the students do experience a high-level impact of test
anxiety on their academic performance, whereas only 16 of 62 (25.8%) students experience a
low impact of test anxiety. In other words, Table 1 shows that a high percentage of students
agreed that test anxiety has an impact on their academic performance. This is illustrated in
figure 4.1.

Figure 1. A pie chart showing test anxiety categories

Figure 4.1 shows percentages of students under the categories of high and low test anxiety
levels in yellow and blue colors to display different test anxiety categories.
The second research question investigated the probable relationship between participants’ gender
and test anxiety. The results are presented in Table 4.2

Table 3: Gender-based analysis of test anxiety

Test anxiety Total

categories
Low High
Test Test
Anxiet Anxiety
y
Count 10 20 30
Gender Male
% of Total 16.1% 32.3% 48.4%
 Count 7 25 32
Female
% of Total 11.3% 40.3% 51.6%
Count 17 45 62
Total
Total 27.4% 72.6% 100.0%
Pearson Chi-Square 0.031

The table indicates that 20 (32.3%) male students experience a high impact of test anxiety.
Furthermore, the table indicates that 25 (40.3%) of the female students do experience high test
anxiety. However, when analyzing the data using chi-square test, a p-value = 0.031 indicates
that a significant statistical relationship exists between gender and test anxiety.

FIGURE 4.2 A bar chart showing comparison of test anxiety across gender
 4
3

feel that I do not

know any of the
answers.
10 I panic before and
during the exam.
62 1 5 2.77 1.360
11 My mind goes 62 1 5 2.74 1.280
blank during a test.
12 Once the exams are
over, I remember 62 1 5 3.47 1.051
the answers to the
questions.
13 I have trouble
sleeping the night 62 1 5 2.94 1.413
before an exam.
14 I make mistakes on
easy questions or 62 1 5 2.63 1.204
put answers in the
wrong places.
15 I have trouble
choosing the right 61 1 5 2.52 1.163
answers
16 When I study for
my exams, I worry
that I may not 62 1 5 3.06 1.389
remember the
materials for the
exams.
17 During important
exams, I think that I 62 1 5 3.23 1.273
am doing awful or
that I may fail.
18 I worry so much
before a major
exam that I cannot 62 1 5 3.18 1.138
do my best on the
exam.
19 After an exam, I
worry about 62 1 5 3.48 1.251
whether I did well
enough.
20 Even when I am
well prepared for an 62 1 5 3.26 1.354
exam I feel very
anxious about it.
 Valid N (listwise) 60

The data presented in Table 4.3 show responses of individual students to each question item
that aimed at eliciting information on the impact of test anxiety on the academic performance of
students. The table also 4.3 indicates that the mean represents a measure of the central tendency
that shows probability distribution of random variables according to the questions. The standard
deviation shows a variation in students’ responses with reference to the average mean.
Furthermore, the data presented in Table 4.3 above indicate that mean responses of students on
the impact of test anxiety on the academic performance of students range from 2.16 to 3.53. The
mean responses below a cut-off of 2.50 indicate that students were of the opinion that test
anxiety does not have any impact on academic performance, whereas the mean responses above
the cut-off of 2.50 indicate that students do agree that test anxiety represented in the
questionnaire items has an impact on academic performances.

4.3. Results of the interview questions

This section discusses the result of the interview questions carried out by the researcher. For
the purpose of this study, six undergraduate students were interviewed. In order to elicit
information from them, they were asked five interview questions. In order to maintain the
anonymity of the participants, the students were coded as S1 to S6 and their responses are
presented below, the interview items and responses will be kept for one year.
Question 1: Please explain how you feel before the exams?
Students’ answers to question 1:
All the interviewees except S4 said that they usually feel very nervous before examinations
because they always wonder what to read and how to answer the test items. S4 was of the
opinion that his feelings about examinations depend on how important the examinations are. He
stated that if the examination is less important, he does not feel anxious, but if the examination
is very important, he feels a little anxious about it.
Question 2: Please explain how you feel after the exams?
Students’ answers to question 2:
S2, S3, S5 and S6 were of the opinion that their feelings after examination depend on the
outcome of the examination. They further stated if they perform well during the examination,
they do not usually panic or think too much about the outcome of the exams. S1 said that she
does not worry about the examination after it is over as all that matters to her is that she does not
have to think about writing any other exam. The respondent stated that the feeling of writing
examinations nauseates her. Moreover, S4 said that she keeps talking to her friends too much
after examination in order to be assured that she did well in the examination.
Question 3: What kind of anxiety do you have before or after the exam?
Student answers to question 3
S4, S5, and S6 stated that in most cases they sweat, and they usually smoke a cigarette
before the exam to reduce their anxiety during exams. However, S1 and S2 stated that they
usually have a feeling of anxiety during the first 10 minutes of the examination, afterward they
become more relaxed. They further stated that they have a feeling of worry after examination. In
contrast to the opinion of other respondents, S3 was of the opinion that she does not have a
feeling of nervousness or anxiety during or before examination especially when she is well
prepared.
Question 4: Do you think about the grade that you may get in the course? If yes, does this
interfere with your performance on a test?
Student responses to question 4:
All the respondents stated that they usually think about their grades during and after the
examination. They said that this thought in most cases makes them more nervous than the
examination itself. They also believed that the more anxious they are before the exam the more
likely it is for them to forget what to write, which in turn affects their grades.
Question 5: Do you feel anxious about the exam even when you are prepared?
Student answers to question 5:
S1, S2, S5, and S4 stated that they do feel anxious about the examination even when they are
prepared because they do not know what kind of questions may appear in the exams, and this
makes them panic even when they are prepared. S3 and S4 were of the opinion that they do not
worry about the examination when they are prepared. They further stated that they do panic for
a few moments, then the panic disappears.
4.4. Conclusion of interview analysis
This section presents the conclusion of the interview.
From the excerpts of this interview, it is quite obvious that the students experience feelings
of nervousness, panic, and worry during and after examinations, due to psychological pressure.
For
the first question, all the students were of the opinion that they exhibit test anxiety before the
examination. However, some variation was observed in the student’s responses due to certain
factors such as proper study, and the importance of the examination.
According to the information gathered from the interview, the feelings of the students after
the examination is dependent upon the nature of the examination (if the examination was
difficult or easy). One of the students also believed that she seldom experienced anxiety after
the examination.
It was obvious through the responses of the students that all of them do seriously think about
the outcome of the examination. This creates a feeling of worry in them as they always think of
what grade they may get after the exam.
4.5. Discussion
The results presented above shows that 74.2% of the students’ experience nervousness,
psychological problems, panic, and worry during or before examination and this affects their
performance. This result is in line with Andrew’s (2004) statement that students who experience
anxiety, nervousness, panic and worry during examinations are bound to have poor results. He
also believed that a high number of students are bound to experience test anxiety due to the way
tests are being administered in schools. This assertion agrees with the excerpts from the
interview as a higher number of the students agree to have experienced a level of panic, worry
and nervousness during and after examinations. Also in a study carried out by David and Karen
(2004), it was found that the over-emphasis on grades in most higher institutions has made
students lose passion for education as a result of poor grades and anxiety associated with the
examination.
Many researchers have argued on the issue of correlation between test anxiety and academic
performance and discovered that test anxiety influence academic performance of students to an
extent. The findings of the present study confirm the view of Audrey and David (2002) that test
anxiety does affect the academic performance of students to some extent. They further stated
that some students do read for exams not for the knowledge, in order to achieve high grades.
Attachment to grades as a prerequisite for graduation has made students go the extra mile
towards achieving good grades which do not translate into knowledge. In view of this problem,
many will ask this questions: are educational systems of the world achieving fundamental
objectives of education? The results of this study are also consistent with the findings of Parviz
and Minoo, (2010) indicated that a direct correlation exists between test anxiety and academic
performance of EFL learners. The study showed that students with high test anxiety level are
possible to have poor grades and those with low-level anxiety will perform better. Soffer’s
(2008) study showed that though a correlation exists between test anxiety and academic
performance, students can manipulate their way to the top through examination malpractice so
as to have good grades. He argued that if a correlation is established in this condition, then
correlation based on this scenario is arguably. He asserts that test anxiety can influence
academic performance and affect grades but other factors should be considered, as well. This
assertion is visible in the present study as well since the interview respondents agree that they
are usually worried about their grades during examination and the existence of panic in most
cases does affect their academic performance. They further stated that these are in line with
Soffers’ findings that the nature of the examination determines their anxiety level which in most
cases determine their grades.
Nevertheless, it is also important to state that according to the result, 25.8% do have the low
level of test anxiety which will possibly reflect on their academic performances. This result
indicates that other possible factors can affect the students’ academic performance which may
be unrelated to test anxiety. This result is in line with the assertion of Wang (2013) who
believed that lack of academic study time that does not allow the students to study very well and
prepare for test/examination can result in poor academic performance among students. This
position is also in-line with the interviews of this study, where students agreed that panic and
worry usually sets in when they have not studied very well for a particular examination. This
implies that if enough study time is given to students before examinations, students will be well
prepared for examination and this will probably reflect in their academic performance. This
finding of the study is in line with of Monty’s (2003) assertion who believed that establishing a
direct correlation between academic performance and test anxiety creates a bias for educational
researchers on this issue of test anxiety. Agreeing to the claim that test anxiety does influence
academic performance, he stated that other possible factors are evident to have a possible effect
on academic performance of students. He believed that researches should be done on other
possible factors that affect students’ academic performance and test anxiety before researchers
can come to a claim that test anxiety directly affects academic performance.
 In addition, the present result is also consistent with the position of Salend (2012) who stated
that most educational institutions especially the private ones are mostly for profit maximization
and not for student’s welfare, thus this self-centered nature of education can contribute to poor
academic performance on students. This position suggests that test anxiety might not be the only
reason for poor academic performance among students rather the nature of educational
institutions. Loewen and Jacoline (2008) stated that private business corporations are more
profit oriented that other corporations. This he adjured to the reason that most private
corporations are investing their resources into their corporation with the sole aim of customer
satisfaction and profit maximization. This they believe is also the case of most private schools.
This issue can to an extent devalue the quality of education given to students and this low
quality of education can affect students’ academic performance. In a study carried out by
Walter, (2015) He believed that poor quality of education affects students’ performance in most
cases which may not conclude that those students are not intelligent rather the nature of
education which they have access to puts them into this category.
However, most researchers have suggested that some relaxation techniques have been proven
to be effective in dealing with the cases of anxiety and this can be applied to this issue of test
anxiety among undergraduate students. Among such researchers is Paul et al. (2007) who was
suggested that relaxation techniques assist in muscle relaxation which in most times increase the
effect of students in test scenarios. further posited that several relaxation techniques have been
employed and proven effective in dealing with issues of test anxiety among students and
therefore suggested that this method can help in reducing test anxiety to minimal. They further
believed that if the educational psychologist is employed in schools and provided with facilities
to work with, other psychological ways of reducing anxiety can be developed which will be
open for student’s visitation especially in dealing with anxiety. These findings and suggestions
are also in line with the position of Nassau (2001) who was of the opinion that relaxation
technique is a way of reducing anxiety among students. He recommended muscle and breathing
relaxation exercise for students who frequently experience anxiety for any purpose. Also, Rasid
et al. (1998) agree with the aforementioned position and confirmed that children between the
ages of 9-8 years who undergo relaxation exercise are more likely to have a different approach
to issues as compared with students who do not. This study, therefore,suggests that students
should be
exposed to facilities that render relaxation exercises to students which will help in reducing
anxiety levels to minimal.
The study further indicated that test anxiety has an impact across genders though there is no
strong statistical significant difference between gender and test anxiety. The study suggests that
test anxiety is not a factor that can be attributed to gender, rather a general phenomenon that is
liable to be experienced by both males and females. However, females seem to be more prone to
respond to test anxiety due to issues of emotionality and self-concept. The results indicated that
16.1% of males and 11.5% females experience low test anxiety, whereas 32.3% of males and
40.3% females experience high test anxiety. When the results were compared using Pearson
moment correlation coefficient, a p-value of 0.031 was obtained which suggested that there is a
statistically significant relationship between gender and test anxiety level. These findings were
in contrast with the findings of LeAnn, (2006) who indicated that test anxiety has a strong
relationship to gender. He carried out a study that analyzed male and female students in the
fourth, sixth, and tenth grades to see which sex had more test uneasiness. The students were
from a provincial town in the US. An aggregate of 85 college students was used as the
population of the study. The students were given an anxiety Scale two weeks before, one week
preceding, and one week after the fourth and sixth-grade capability tests and the graduation
Test. The forecast for this study is that the10th grade females will have more prominent test
anxiety than the fourth and sixth-grade students, also that females and the tenth-grade males
two weeks preceding the high stakes testing, one week before the high stakes testing, and their
nervousness will diminish the most amid the posttest. The outcomes were analyzed using
independent T-tests analysis. The outcomes showed there was a critical difference between the
sixth-grade male and females amid the pretest administration, who showed a high level of
tension among them.
Also in another study carried out by Saima, Imtiaz, Memona, Nighat, (2012) The discoveries
of this examination recommend that gender orientation contrasts are critical where female
masters' students demonstrated an altogether larger amount of test nervousness than their male
partners. Subsequently, the speculations that there are sexual orientation contrasts in test
tension, stress, and examination stress have been confirmed. Different studies additionally
bolster this assertion. A larger amount of test uneasiness amongst the female students is
additionally upheld by other studies as well. Alongside the general level of examination anxiety,
it was found that female students had an essentially higher need for individual backing from the
family during an
examination when contrasted with the male students. The manifestations of test nervousness and
anxiety occasions which were measured seven days before the exam likewise contrasted
amongst this two genders. Female students seem, by all accounts, to be more inclined to test
nervousness and examination stress, Other than the task of various social parts to men and ladies
which may be in charge of expanded enthusiastic weakness in ladies; these sexual differences
contrasts may be the result of smothered emotions of animosity in ladies as a particular
hypothesis of anxiety appears to suggest. Ladies appear to be more disposed to experience test
nervousness and anxiety when they are resolved to demonstrate their value in scholarly issues
particularly at the point when the general public debilitates their entitlement to advanced
education, which makes them feel mentally the second rate compared to men,
This is in line with another hypothesis; Freud’s hypothesis of tension or anxiety in which the
second sort of tension is delivered therefore of danger to the ego of genders. Existentialists
likewise study the idea of danger to self-regard which may bring about test nervousness amongst
female student. It may be contended that female students are liable to relate their self-esteem
with grades in exams while male students appear to be improbable to think about exams to such
an extent. Earlier views into supporting this perception additionally demonstrate that male
students have trust in their ability to perform well in exams. It may likewise be recommended
that female students in an endeavor to satisfy their wishes to exceed expectations get to be tested
on edge pretty much as Freud asserts this phenomenon as a standpoint which indicates that
females are prone to issues of test anxiety as compared to males, this was adjured to issues of
varying self-concepts or self-esteem among the two groups. The above-mentioned studies in a
way agree and also contrast the findings of this study which is possible to be as a result of other
factors that more research on test anxiety will unveil.
Be it as it may, it was evident through the results and interviews that test anxiety has a
relatively high impact on academic performance of students while there was no significant
correlation between gender and test anxiety among EFL.This does suggest to the fact that other
possible factors can in a way affect the academic performance of students apart from test anxie
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter is presented under conclusion and recommendations based on the objectives of the
study.
This research focused on the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of
undergraduate students at a private university in Northern Cyprus. The objectives of the study
were to
1. Determine the impact of test anxiety on EFL undergraduate students

2. Determine the influence of test anxiety across gender of EFL undergraduate students

For the purpose of this study, four research questions were developed in order to guide the
study. The participants for the study comprised of 62 undergraduate students of ELT department
of a private university in North Cyprus. A structured questionnaire was used to collect useful
information from the student on the objective of the study. Afterward, a semi-structured
questionnaire was used to interview 6 undergraduate students from the same department. Data
collected from the respondents was analyzed using SPSS analytic tool to explain frequency
distribution of responses showing the different levels of test anxiety among students and a pie-
chart that explains the percentage distribution of high and low levels anxiety rates among
students. Also, a chi-square statistical tool was used to compare responses of male and female
participants in order to determine the impact of test anxiety across genders.

5.1. Conclusion
Conclusion for this study is based on the findings of the researcher. According to the findings
the following conclusions were made;
Students experience a degree of test anxiety before, after examinations and this feeling of
anxiety was possible to impact on academic performances of students as well. This conclusion
was evident in the responses of students on the impact of test anxiety on academic performance.
The results showed a high percentage of students agreeing that they usually have a feeling of
nervousness, panic, and worry about test scenarios.
 The study also discovered that a direct correlation does exist between test anxiety and
academic performance. The responses from the participants did suggest that students with high
anxiety level are bound to have poor academic performance whereas students with low anxiety
levels are possible to have good grades after examinations. Also, interviews carried out during
the midterm indicated that students were of the opinion that they have a feeling of
nervousness,panic, and worry as a result of the examination.
Nevertheless, the findings of the study also argue that test anxiety may be a major issue
among test takers and a major cause of low academic performance as well. The findings also
suggested that other factors are possible to contribute to the poor academic performance of
students during or before examinations. The findings suggested that lack of enough study time is
possible to cause poor academic performance among students. It was further buttressed by the
opinion of the interviewers who stated that when they study for a long period of time for a
particular course, they usually do not bother about the outcome of the examination as compared
when they have a lot to study for a short period of time, anxiety and nervousness sets in. Also,
the study discovered that most of the respondent agreed that the amount of time allocated to
study determines whether anxiety sets in or not.
Furthermore, the study posited that the administrative nature of the most private school, who
are self-centered on profit maximization can contribute to the poor academic performance of
students. The study agreed that private institutions who are focused on making profits do not
really put into consideration the performance of their students alongside world standards. This
neglectful issue is possible to create poor educational outcomes which in most cases do reflects
on students’ academic performance. In line with this findings, the study was of the opinion that
other factors are possible to impact on students’ academic performance and not anxiety alone.
The findings also suggested that test anxiety has a correlation with gender though it was not
strong enough to conclude that a strong relationship does exist between test anxiety and gender.
It was clear also that other studies on gender and test anxiety did suggest that test anxiety has a
strong relationship across different gender which were usually associated with issues of
individual self-concepts of the students which in most cases makes the females be more prone to
test anxiety as compared to male students.
It is evident through the results and interviews of the study that test anxiety has a relatively
high impact on academic performance of undergraduate students in a private university in North
Cyprus and that test anxiety have a relationship with gender as indicated in the result though it
was not strong enough to make conclusions with regards to the study.
5.2. Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations are were
made for researchers and practitioners:
School administrators should employ the services of an educational psychologist who will be
responsible for educating and advising students on examination related issues. This educational
psychologist will also be responsible for reassuring students through certain relaxation
techniques before examinations. The aim of this is to reduce the anxiety level of students before
a major test in order to improve concentration and better test performance.
Also, teachers should design other creative strategies of carrying out an evaluation in
schools. Strategies like research work, practical classroom, activities, projects, assignments,
take-home examination, open book examination and another evaluation strategy can be used by
teachers in carrying out an evaluation of students in school. These and much more will assist in
improving the students’ academic performance, reducing affective filter during examinations
thus assisting in bringing out the inner deposit of skills embedded in students as well as making
learning a beautiful worthwhile experience.
In addition to this, Teachers need to reduce the emphasis on grades as this engineer fear of the
unknown among student especially during and after examination. Students are usually troubled
of their grades after each examination due to the emphasis educational administrators, teachers
and others have put on grades. This issue has made students go the extra mile in order to ensure
good grades at the end of examinations whereas good grades do not suggest that learning has
occurred. To this length, less emphasis should be made on awarding grades rather teacher
should encourage students to contribute to the wealth of knowledge in each course as this
alongside spur students to becoming more creative and intuitive during classroom lessons.
Also, female students should always be encouraged during lessons, before examination and
reassured more than the males. This is as a result of the findings of the study which suggest that
females are more likely to experience test anxiety more than the males. This act of reassurance
either by teacher or psychologist will help in boosting their self-esteem and self-concepts
towards study which will help create a better attitude towards examination and life issues as
well.
 Finally, I am of the opinion that since the teacher is given lots of academic time to tutor
students on a particular course, likewise much study time should be given to students as well.
The study discovered that lack of adequate study time contributes to a feeling of nervousness
and panic especially before and while preparing for the examination. Students are seen attending
classrooms even weeks to examinations and this does not help during examination periods. Also
during the semesters, the course schedules for the students are planned in a way that students
does not have time to study after each lesson and considering other extra-curricular activities
which the student engages in, little or no time is available for proper study. In this direction,
students should be allocated adequate study time that will allow for effective preparation for
examinations which would eventually replicate in their academic performance.

5.3 Suggestions for Further Research

Further research should be conducted on:

1. Influence of test anxiety on positive learning outcome

2. The impact of female emotionality on academic performance
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