TEST ANXIETY AS CORRELATE OF CHEMISTRY ACHIEVEMENT AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IMO STATE

Abstract

This paper investigated test anxiety as correlate of secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry in Imo State. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a correlational survey design. The population of 16,302 comprised all senior secondary school class two Chemistry students in 295 public secondary schools in the six education zones in Imo State. Eight hundred and seventy-five (875) formed the sample size which were selected using multi-stage sampling procedure. The instrument used for data collection is Sokan Test Anxiety Scale (STAS). The Cronbach reliability coefficient for STAS is 0.78. To collect data for the research, the researcher first visited the schools and discussed with the principals to get permission to carry out the research. The instrument was administered on the students by the researcher with the help of five research assistants to facilitate easy administration of the instruments. The cumulative average scores of the student in their first, second and third terms were used as their academic achievement scores. The data collected from respondents were analysed using Pearson product moment correction coefficient and regression analysis via SPSS version 20. The results revealed that test anxiety related negatively and to students’ chemistry achievement, although, the relationship was weak. This indicates that other factors are contributing more to students’ achievement in chemistry other than their test anxiety. It was recommended among others that teachers should work on their students to do away with every form of anxiety during examinations.