The Consequence of Consequence: Motivation, Anxiety, and Test Performance

When a student takes a test, his or her performance may be expected to be influenced by the perceived consequence of the test to the student. Motivation, anxiety, and ultimately performance will be affected by what the test means to the student in terms of results. This research investigates the relationships of test consequence, motivation, anxiety, and performance on a sample of undergraduates taking a child development course. An hourly examination was given under two experimental conditions; in one condition the exam counted as part of the course grade, and in the other condition it did not. Results indicated that the consequence of the test had a strong influence on motivation and a modest, but significant influence on performance. Motivation and anxiety were found to have opposite effects on performance. Results are discussed in terms of their relation to classroom practice and technical issues in measurement.