Influence of test anxiety on measurement of intelligence

In this study a measurement model for a test anxiety questionnaire was investigated in a sample of 207 Dutch students in the first grade of junior secondary vocational education. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis showed that a model for test anxiety with three factors for worry, emotionality, and lack of self-confidence is associated with a significantly better fit than a model comprised of only the first two factors. The relations of the three test anxiety factors to scores on intelligence tests for measuring verbal ability, reasoning, and spatial ability were examined. The results indicated that test anxiety appears to be transitory: the negative relation between test anxiety and test performance promptly fades away. Finally, we examined whether a distinction can be made between highly test anxious students with low performance due to worrisome thoughts (interference hypothesis) or low ability (deficit hypothesis). Results do not support the deficit hypothesis because the scores of all highly test anxious students increased in a less stressful situation.