Appraisal of the level of test anxiety among tertiary education students: A case of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Test anxiety which implies excessive worry about doing well on a test by students no matter the level can become a major hindrance on test performance and can cause extreme nervousness and memory lapses among other symptoms. This study x-rayed and investigated the level of test anxiety among students in tertiary institutions using Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo State as a reference point. One research question and three hypotheses were employed. A total of 205 third year students representing ten percent of the population were systematically selected using a ratio of 1:10. Data were analysed and the chi-squared statistic result showed significant dependence of students’ level of test anxiety on gender and age cohort but independence on the students’ school of study. It is recommended that instructors should counsel students’ during instruction on ways of reducing anxiety by preparing well before the test, thereby building self-confidence.

Keywords: Test, anxiety, students, gender, age cohort, counselors, anxiety inducers.