Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review
Test anxiety research has been dominated by attention to theory building and examining the causes and consequences of this construct. However, recently, considerable attention has been turned toward using test anxiety as a diagnostic indicator of students who are at risk of underperforming in educat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/3/331 |
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| author | Jerrell C. Cassady Ser Hong Tan Al Robiullah Isabella Badzovski Jessica Janiuk |
| author_facet | Jerrell C. Cassady Ser Hong Tan Al Robiullah Isabella Badzovski Jessica Janiuk |
| author_sort | Jerrell C. Cassady |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Test anxiety research has been dominated by attention to theory building and examining the causes and consequences of this construct. However, recently, considerable attention has been turned toward using test anxiety as a diagnostic indicator of students who are at risk of underperforming in educational settings. This systematic review of the literature was focused on (a) describing the strategies used in the field, (b) highlighting the benefits and limitations of those approaches, and (c) offering guidance in creating a framework for appropriate methods when identifying severity levels on measures of test anxiety for university students. The results confirmed that the vast majority of studies on test anxiety have no formal “leveling” approaches (maintaining test anxiety as a continuous variable). However, when researchers do employ “leveling” strategies, the majority adopt inappropriate methods (e.g., single-sample splits). However, there are exemplars that demonstrate statistically sound procedures for identifying distinct profiles of test anxiety that may form a basis to build consensus around a classification method for elevated test anxiety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ca0bd1ce4b614435abb75cfaac51b4ab |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-ca0bd1ce4b614435abb75cfaac51b4ab2025-08-20T02:42:45ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-03-0115333110.3390/bs15030331Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic ReviewJerrell C. Cassady0Ser Hong Tan1Al Robiullah2Isabella Badzovski3Jessica Janiuk4Department of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USACentre for Research in Child Development and Science of Learning in Education Centre, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, SingaporeDepartment of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USADepartment of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USADepartment of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USATest anxiety research has been dominated by attention to theory building and examining the causes and consequences of this construct. However, recently, considerable attention has been turned toward using test anxiety as a diagnostic indicator of students who are at risk of underperforming in educational settings. This systematic review of the literature was focused on (a) describing the strategies used in the field, (b) highlighting the benefits and limitations of those approaches, and (c) offering guidance in creating a framework for appropriate methods when identifying severity levels on measures of test anxiety for university students. The results confirmed that the vast majority of studies on test anxiety have no formal “leveling” approaches (maintaining test anxiety as a continuous variable). However, when researchers do employ “leveling” strategies, the majority adopt inappropriate methods (e.g., single-sample splits). However, there are exemplars that demonstrate statistically sound procedures for identifying distinct profiles of test anxiety that may form a basis to build consensus around a classification method for elevated test anxiety.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/3/331test anxietyleveling strategiessystematic reviewuniversity students |
| spellingShingle | Jerrell C. Cassady Ser Hong Tan Al Robiullah Isabella Badzovski Jessica Janiuk Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review Behavioral Sciences test anxiety leveling strategies systematic review university students |
| title | Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Methods Employed in Studies Identifying “Levels” of Test Anxiety in University Students: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | methods employed in studies identifying levels of test anxiety in university students a systematic review |
| topic | test anxiety leveling strategies systematic review university students |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/3/331 |
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