Multiple-Choice Test Format and Student Test Anxiety: A Case Set in a Technical Analytics Class

Most business schools require students to take at least one technical Management Information System (MIS) course.Due to the technical nature of the material, the course and the assessments tend to be anxiety inducing.With over three out of every five students in US colleges suffering from "overwhelming anxiety" in some form, we study whether or not the perception of test format congruence (i.e., ability to reward knowledge) leads to satisfaction with the test format and lower test anxiety.In this study, we also considered the impact risk-taking profiles have on satisfaction with the test format.Using data collected from our survey, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the measurement model and a confirmatory factor analysis on the structural model.We found that test congruence positively impacts satisfaction with the format, satisfaction impacts anxiety negatively, and risk profile does not seem to play a role.These findings contribute theoretically as we create an integrated framework grounded in different theoretical views.The findings also have practical implications as they allow instructors to see that aligning assessments to reward knowledge can help manage students' anxiety.