Test anxiety, academic performance, and cognitive appraisals.

The impact of test anxiety on test performance and the cognitive appraisals of test-anxious students were explored. To overcome limitations of previous research, state and dispositional measures of test anxiety were used over repeated performance trials. Sixty-two students who were enrolled in an undergraduate statistics course that required multiple examinations served as subjects. The students' expectations, thoughts, and performance were assessed at each of the four exam occasions. Results indicated that test anxiety was related to poor test performance both early and late in the term. When state anxiety levels were controlled for, the test anxiety-test performance relation was apparent only during the later stages of the course. The pattern of students' anxiety and appraisals suggests that test-anxious students experience most doubt and concern early in the term. The implications of these findings for theories of test anxiety are discussed.