Academically buoyant students are less anxious about and perform better in high‐stakes examinations

Abstract

Background. Prior research has shown that test anxiety is negatively related to academic buoyancy, but it is not known whether test anxiety is an antecedent or outcome of academic buoyancy. Furthermore, it is not known whether academic buoyancy is related to examination performance.Aims. To test a model specifying reciprocal relations between test anxiety and academic buoyancy and establish whether academic buoyancy is related to examination performance.Sample. 705 students in their final year of secondary education (Year 11).Methods. Self-report data for test anxiety and academic buoyancy were measured in two waves in Year 11. Examination performance was taken from the mean English, mathematics and science scores from the high-stakes General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations taken at the end of Year 11.Results. Measurement invariance was demonstrated for test anxiety and academic buoyancy across both waves of measurement. The model for the worry component of test anxiety showed reciprocal relations with academic buoyancy. Worry predicted lower mean GCSE score and academic buoyancy predicted a higher mean GCSE score. The model for the tension component of test anxiety showed that higher buoyancy was related to lower tension and academic buoyancy predicted a higher mean GCSE score. Tension was unrelated to future academic buoyancy and did not predict mean GCSE score. Conclusion. Academic buoyancy protects against the appraisal of examinations asthreatening by influencing self-regulative processes and enables better examination performance. Worry, but not tension, shows a negative feedback loop to academic buoyancy.Keywords. Test anxiety, worry, tension, academic buoyancy, examination performance 2 Academically buoyant students are less anxious about and perform better in high-stakes examinations Introduction High-stakes examinations have important consequences for students, teachers and schools. Results are used to inform educational decisions about students and influence the subsequent life trajectory of students (Heubert & Hauser, 1999; Segool, von der Embse, Mata, & Gallant, 2014). More recently, results have been used in both the UK and elsewhere in accountability policy reforms to judge school and teacher effectiveness and, in some cases, pay and tenure (Koretz & Hamilton, 2006; Hanushek & Raymond, 2005). Students differ widely in the way that they approach and respond to the pressure posed by high-stakes examinations. Some students thrive under such pressure, some seem relatively unbothered by it, whereas others seem to choke (e.g., Barksdale-Ladd & Thomas, 2000; von der Embse & Hasson, 2012; Wang & Shah, 2013). Understanding the factors that influence students' responses to examination pressure and performance on high-stakes examinations is of interest to a wide variety of educational professionals including teachers, school managers, educational and school psychologists.In this study we examine two salient individual differences variables in students' performance in the General C...

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