TEST ANXIETY AS PREDICTOR OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated test anxiety as predictor of academic achievements of secondary school students in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational survey design. The population of the study consists of 18,852 senior secondary school students (SSS II) in the 258 public secondary schools in Anambra State.  The sample for the study was 943 SSII students who were drawn using multi-stage sampling. An instrument was used for the data collection of this study. The instrument was: Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), it is a standardized instrument and has been properly validated and tested for reliability. Also termly results of students in English language and Mathematics were collected from their school records. The data collected were analysed using simple regression analysis. The finding of the study showed that test anxiety is a predictor of academic achievement of students in English language and Mathematics. Based on the findings conclusions were drawn, and the study recommended that schools, family and institutions should assist students in managing their test-anxiety through counselling, relaxation and behaviour modification techniques.