An Evaluation of Test Anxiety Scales: Convergent, Divergent, and Predictive Validity

The detrimental effects of test anxiety on learning and academic performance are well documented (e.g., Hembree, 1988; Grooms & Endler, 1960; Lam & Hong, 1992; S. B. Sarason, Hill, & Zimbardo, 1964; see Anderson & Sauser, Chapter 2). Appropriately, psychologists have attempted to help test-anxious students by developing a variety of treatment programs designed to reduce the adverse effects of test anxiety during examinations (e.g., Allen, 1971; Dykeman, 1989; Hembree, 1988; Spielberger et al., 1976; Suinn, 1968; see also Chapters 9–14). To understand and assess the construct of test anxiety, and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs, valid and sensitive measures of test anxiety are needed. There is, however, considerable controversy with regard to the measurement of test anxiety that impedes progress in this field.