Test-taking skills of secondary students: the relationship with motivation, attitudes, anxiety and attitudes towards tests

Dodeen, Hamzeh; Abdelfattah, Faisal; Alshumrani, Saleh

doi:10.15700/201412071153

Cited by 32 publications

(38 citation statements)

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“…However, a recent study conducted in a high-stakes test situation showed that high and low achievers differ in reported motivation, with low achievers reporting significantly lower levels of motivation than high achievers (Stenlund et al 2017). Further, studies have shown that there seems to be gender differences in both reported test anxiety and motivation, where females tend to report higher levels of test anxiety (Stenlund et al 2017;Cassady and Johnson 2002;Naylor 1997;Zeidner 1998), and males tend to report lower levels of motivation (DeMars et al 2013).Test anxiety and test motivation have also been found to be related to general test-taking strategies, including risk-taking (see, e.g., Dodeen et al 2014;Hong et al 2006;Peng et al 2014). The use of effective test-taking strategies has been shown to be positively related to In sum, earlier research has found that test-taking behavior in terms of risk-taking and ability to manage emotional and motivational factors are important when taking a test, especially in a high-stakes test situation.…”

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The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

2017

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To be successful in a high-stakes testing situation is desirable for any test taker. It has been found that, beside content knowledge, test-taking behavior, such as risktaking strategies, motivation, and test anxiety, is important for test performance. The purposes of the present study were to identify and group test takers with similar patterns of test-taking behavior and to explore how these groups differ in terms of background characteristics and test performance in a high-stakes achievement test context. A sample of the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test test takers (N = 1891) completed a questionnaire measuring their motivation, test anxiety, and risk-taking behavior during the test, as well as background characteristics. A two-step cluster analysis revealed three clusters of test takers with significantly different test-taking behavior profiles: a moderate (n = 741), a calm risk taker (n = 637), and a test anxious risk averse (n = 513) profile. Group difference analyses showed that the calm risk taker profile (i.e., a high degree of risktaking together with relatively low levels of test anxiety and motivation during the test) was the most successful profile from a test performance perspective, while the test anxious risk averse profile (i.e., a low degree of risk-taking together with high levels of test anxiety and motivation) was the least successful. Informing prospective test takers about these insights can potentially lead to more valid interpretations and inferences based on the test scores. Eur J Psychol Educ (2018) shown that for a test taker to be successful when taking a test, it is important to be able to reduce anxiety and sustain motivation (Dodeen et al. 2014;Naylor 1997;Sternberg 1998), as well as using effective test-taking strategies, such as willingness to take risks (Bicak 2013;Bond and Harman 1994;Dodeen 2008). Studies in this area often compare groups of test takers and have for example found that high achievers tend to report using more effective testtaking strategies when compared to low achievers (Stenlund et al. 2017;Ellis and Ryan 2003;Hong et al. 2006;Kim and Goetz 1993), that males are more prone to taking risks when answering test items (see, e.g., Baldiga 2014), and that females and low achievers seem to experience higher levels of test anxiety than males and high achievers (Stenlund et al. 2017;Cassady and Johnson 2002;Naylor 1997). Findings like these can help understand and to some extent possibly explain performance differences that are often observed between manifest groups in achievement tests. Still, considering the consequences of successful test-taking behavior in high-stakes test situations, and assuming that test takers adopt different test-taking behavior, exploring differences across groups, in terms of profiles, and identifying patterns that seem associated with sucessful and less successful test-taking, respectively, might add important knowledge to this area. With this study, we therefore aim at identifying subgroups of test takers with similar patter...

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The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

2017

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“…The importance of learners' attitudes regarding tests has been emphasized as they may affect achievement (Dodeen, Abdelfattah, & Alshumrani, 2014). This acquires even more relevance if we take into account Vol.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Numerical results on the ATS reflect learners' attitudes in relation to tests as "a high score on ATS suggests positive attitudes towards tests" (Dodeen, Abdelfattah, & Alshumrani, 2014). This instrument was selected because it has already been applied in at least two studies (Dodeen, 2008;Dodeen, Abdelfattah, & Alshumrani, 2014) measuring learners' attitudes.…”

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The Effect of Washback on EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward Tests

Muñoz

2017

SELT

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“…Many students are anxious before a test (e.g., Dodeen, Abdelfattah, & Alshumrani, 2014;see Stöber & Pekrun, [2004] for a review) and some try to evade failure by working too hard and in a perfectionist manner (Martin, 2001;Martin & Marsh, 2003;Martin, Marsh, & Debus, 2001). Such 'active test anxiety' may include excessive learning, perceptions of low control, and unstable self-esteem (Martin, 2001;Martin et al, 2001), as well as the negative dimension of perfectionism (Arana & Furlan, 2016).…”

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Preparatory Test Anxiety: Cognitive, Emotionality, and Behavior Components

Shadach

Levy-Frank²,

Levy³

et al. 2017

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Test anxiety interferes with the ability to communicate knowledge during tests. Preparatory test anxiety may lead to excessive learning that reduces concentration and leads to mistakes and ineffective learning. This preliminary study developed the Preparatory Test Anxiety Questionnaire (PTAQ), tested its reliability and construct validity, and assessed whether students with preparatory test anxiety exhibit excessive lea rning. Additionally, it explored the relations between the subscales and the total scores of the PTAQ and the TAI. Sample included 364 undergraduate college psychology students. Results indicated that the PTAQ is comprised of the 'cognition-emotion' and 'behavior' subscales and has an adequate internal consistency and construct validity. The subscales and total score of the PTAQ were positively correlated with those of the TAI. Regression analysis showed that the Emotion-Cognition scale of the PTAQ significantly added to the explained variance, while the Behavior scale did not. Results are discussed with regard to preparatory test anxiety.

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Test-taking skills of secondary students: the relationship with motivation, attitudes, anxiety and attitudes towards tests

Cited by 32 publications

References 25 publications

The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

The Effect of Washback on EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward Tests

Preparatory Test Anxiety: Cognitive, Emotionality, and Behavior Components

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