Students’ interpersonal trust and attitudes towards standardised tests: exploring affective variables related to student assessment

Cognitive and psychometric variables have directed research on student test performance. However, student learning involves a substantial affective component. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between two kinds of affective variables – interpersonal trust and attitudes towards standardised tests – likely to underlie student test performance. We also examined the effect of a print media report on students’ trust and attitudes towards testing. Using structural equation modelling, we investigated the responses of 206 university students to a modified version of the Test Attitude Survey and Interpersonal Trust Scale. One notable result indicated that variation in students’ attitudes about the effort expended on tests was explained by their interpersonal trust and their attitudes towards the value placed on tests. Viewed through the lens of expectancy theory, these results suggest that affective variables need to be more fully considered when considering practice and generating policy to improve student test performance.