Why do some students have test anxiety?

After Chapter 9 , readers will grasp the physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms of test anxiety, helping them differentiate between everyday nerves and debilitating underperformance. Exploring the difference between stress and anxiety, the chapter investigates how individual responses to academic stress can lead to it either being seen as a healthy challenge or an anxiety-inducing threat. In addition to looking at the impact of test anxiety on pupil well-being, it will introduce the key features of test anxiety, developing readers’ understanding of the cognitive, affective, physiological and behavioural elements of the condition. Moreover, it will outline the different temporal stages of test anxiety, highlighting how anxiety about assessments can occur well before the testing event. Like Chapter 7 , this chapter also considers contextual factors, such as gender and special educational needs, and also demonstrates how test anxiety also negatively impacts children from primary school onwards. Crucially, the chapter also reveals how test anxiety is not limited to the exam hall and demonstrates how students can experience test anxiety in a classroom setting. Notably, the chapter illustrates how teacher behaviour – for example, using fear appeals in an attempt to motivate students – can amplify students’ anxiety about assessments.