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DECLARATION OF THESIS / UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT

Author’s full name : NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR Date of birth : 1 MAY 1986 Title : OVERCOMING TEST ANXIETY: PERSPECTIVES OF SENIOR STUDENTS OF THE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Academic Session : 2008/2009 I declare that this thesis is classified as :

I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows :

1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the purpose

of research only. 3. The Library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.

Certified by :

860501-56-6062 (NEW IC NO. /PASSPORT NO.) ASSC. PROF DR. ABDUL HALIM ABDUL RAOF

Date : 28 APRIL 2009 Date : 28 APRIL 2009

NOTES : * If the thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, please attach with the letter from the organisation with period and reasons for confidentiality or restriction.

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

√

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organisation where research was done)* OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open access

(full text)

“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my

opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the

award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education (TESL)”

Signature : ....................................................

Name of Supervisor : ASSC. PROF DR ABDUL HALIM ABDUL

RAOF

Date : 28 APRIL 2009

OVERCOMING TEST ANXIETY: PERSPECTIVES OF SENIOR STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION

NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Science in Education (TESL)

Faculty of Education

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

JUNE 2009

ii

I declare that this thesis entitled “Overcoming Test Anxiety: Perspectives of

Senior Students of the Faculty of Education” is the result of my own research

except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree

and is

not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature : ....................................................

Name : NURUL HANA BINTI AB NASIR

Date : .28 APRIL 2009

iii

To my loved ones…

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, all praise be to Allah, the Almighty for His blessings

and guidance for giving me the inspiration to do this study. I would like to

express my gratitude to all who have helped in one way or another in the

planning, brainstorming, writing and editing stages of this study. Special thanks

to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Halim bin Abdul Raof for guiding me

along the way. I would also like to express my thanks to Puan Rozita Abdul Jalil,

lecturer of course SPM 3112, Programming Language II for all of the

cooperation. And to my parents and fellow course mates thanks for supporting

me in completing this study.

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ABSTRACT

This study set out to investigate ways to overcome test anxiety from the

perspectives of senior students of the Faculty of Education. Test anxiety as

Zeidner defined it and quoted by Cizek and Burg (2006) is uneasiness feelings

towards things that have to do with evaluative situation. The study which took

place in UTM, Skudai aimed to look for expressions and sources of test anxiety

as perceived by UTM senior students. It also aimed to find out how they

overcome it. A set of questionnaires was distributed to 91 students from SPM

3112 course, Programming Language II. Nine of the respondents agreed to

participate in a semi- structured interview. The overall results showed that senior

students of UTM expressed their test anxiety through thought disruption and they

felt anxious because they were concerned about their preparation for test. It was

found that most participants perceived test anxiety as a normal feeling and thus,

not many were bothered to overcome it. However, it was found out too that there

were two ways that participants overcome test anxiety. These can be categorised

as physical reactions and mental reactions. The mental reactions are further

divided into two which are self-motivation and religious belief. It is hoped that

this study will give benefits to both students and lecturers of the Faculty of

Education, in particular, on the issues of test anxiety.

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ABSTRAK

Kajian ini menyiasat cara menghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian dari

perspektif pelajar kanan Fakulti Pendidikan. Keresahan terhadap ujian seperti

yang diterjemahkan oleh Zeidner yang diambil dari Cizek dan Burg (2006)

adalah perasaan tidak selesa terhadap perkara yang melibatkan situasi penilaian.

Kajian yang dilakukan di UTM, Skudai ini dijalankan untuk mencari cara pelajar

kanan UTM mengekspreskan keresahan mereka terhadap ujian dan punca mereka

merasa resah terhadap ujian. Ia juga bertujuan untuk menyiasat cara mereka

menghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian. Satu set borang soal selidik telah

diagihkan kepada seramai 91 orang pelajar dari kursus SPM 3112, Bahasa

Pengaturcaraan II. Sembilan orang dari mereka telah bersetuju untuk terlibat

dalam sesi temuramah separa struktur. Keputusan keseluruhannya menunjukkan

yang pelajar kanan UTM mengekspreskan keresahan mereka terhadap ujian

dengan gangguan minda dan keresahan ini berpunca dari kerisauan mereka

tentang persediaan mereka untuk ujian. Dari dapatan kajian, didapati

kebanyakkan pelajar menganggap keresahan terhadap ujian adalah perkara biasa

dan kebanyakannya tidak mengambil apa- apa tindakan untuk menghadapinya.

Namun, didapati terdapat dua jenis langkah yang diambil oleh responden untuk

meghadapi keresahan terhadap ujian. Dua cara itu boleh dikategorikan sebagai

tindakan fizikal dan tindakan mental. Tindakan mental ini pula terbahagi kepada

dua iaitu motivasi kendiri dan kepercayaan terhadap agama. Diharapkan kajian

ini dapat membantu para pelajar dan pensyarah dari Fakulti Pendidikan,

khususnya, dalam memahami isu- isu keresahan terhadap ujian.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURE xiii

LIST OF CHARTS xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES xv

1 INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 2

1.2 Statement of the problem 3

1.3 Purpose of the study 5

1.4 Objectives of the study 5

1.5 Research questions 5

1.6 Significance of the study 6

1.7 Scope of the study 6

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1.8 Definition of terms

1.8.1 Test 7

1.8.2 Anxiety 7

1.8.3 Test Anxiety 8

1.8.4 Symptoms of Test Anxiety 8

1.8.4.1 Body reaction 9

1.8.4.2 Thought disruption 9

1.8.4.3 General test- taking anxiety 9

1.8.5 Sources of Test Anxiety 9

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction 11

2.1 Concept of Anxiety 11

2.2 Concept of Test Anxiety 14

2.3 Concept of Self 17

2.4 Theory adapted for this research 19

2.5 Research studies related to anxiety 20

2.5.1 Test Anxiety among SPT undergraduates 20

by Che Rogayah Desa, 1997

2.5.2 Anxiety during Oral Presentation 21

by Shamril Wan Shahril Ridzuan, 2005

2.5.3 Worry, Intelligence and Academic Behaviour 22

in Dutch School Children by Ploeg, 1980

2.5.4 Test Anxiety Development in West German 22

Schools by Schwarzer and friends, 1984

2.5.5 Test anxiety in K-12 Education 23

by Cizek and Burg, 2006

2.6 Conclusion 24

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3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction 25

3.1 Research participants 25

3.2 Research instruments 27

3.2.1 Questionnaire 27

3.2.2 Semi-structured Interview 29

3.3 Research procedure 31

3.4 Data analysis 33

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.0 Introduction 34

4.1 Questionnaire 34

4.1.1 Background information of participants 35

4.1.1.1 Course 35

4.1.1.2 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) 36

4.1.1.3 UHB 1412 and UHB 2422 Exam Results 37

4.1.1.4 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English 38

Paper Grade

4.1.1.5 MUET Band 39

4.1.2 Expressions of Test Anxiety 40

4.1.3 Summary of Expressions of Test Anxiety 45


4.1.4.1 Concerned about Others View 48

4.1.4.2 Concerned about Self-Image 50

4.1.4.3 Concerned about Future Security 52

4.1.4.4 Concerned about Preparation 54

4.1.5 Summary of Sources of Test Anxiety 56

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4.2 Interview 59



4.2.3 Strategies to overcome Test Anxiety 66

4.2.3.1 Physical reactions 68

4.2.3.1 Mental reactions 71

4.2.3.2.1 Self-motivation 72

4.2.3.2.2 Religious belief 74

4.3 Discussion of the findings 76



4.3.3 Overcoming Test Anxiety 83

4.4 Conclusion 87

5 SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS

AND CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction 88

5.1 Summary 88

5.1.1 Summary of the study 89

5.1.2 Summary of the findings 90

5.2 Limitations of the study 91

5.3 Recommendations 92

5.3.1 Pedagogical recommendations 92

5.3.2 Future research 93

5.4 Conclusion 94

REFERENCES 95-97

APPENDICES

xi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

3.1 Division of questionnaire items 25

4.1 Participant distribution in frequency and percentage 36

according to Course


according to CGPA


according to UHB 1412 and UHB 2422 Exam Results


according to SPM English Paper Grade


according to MUET Band

4.6 Divisions of items on Expressions of Test Anxiety 42

based on Categories


according to Expression of Test Anxiety

4.8 Lists of Categories of Expressions of Anxiety 45

based on Most Expressed by Participants

4.9 Divisions of items on Sources of Test Anxiety 47


according to Concerned about Others View

4.11 Participant distribution in Frequency and Percentage 50

according to Concerned about Others View

xii


according to Concerned about Your Own Self- Image


according to Concerned about Your Own Self- Image


according to Concerned about Your Future Security


according to Concerned about Your Future Security


according to Concerned about Preparation


according to Concerned about Preparation

4.18 Information of interviewed participants 60

based on questionnaire

xiii

LIST OF FIGURE

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

3.1 Procedure to conduct the study 32

xiv

LIST OF CHARTS

CHART NO. TITLE PAGE

4.1 Students percentage based on 50% agreement 57

on items of each sources

4.2 Students means percentage based on most 58

agreed items from each source

xv

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX TITLE

A Questionnaire

B Test Anxiety Inventory Analysis

C SPM 3112 Programming Language II mid term test

paper

D Sample of transcription

E Translation of extracts of transcription

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction

Test anxiety has become more visible nowadays as more students tend to

do last minute revision. Teachers, too, often do pop quiz in class and sometimes

give monthly tests without informing the students first. Some students gain

benefit from their anxious feelings towards test taking but many others somehow

are affected as shown in their performance in a test. The same scenario is

happening in the tertiary education environment. Students study at the last minute

as most of their time is spent either completing their assignments and projects or

on club activities.

It is often observed that people who experienced test anxiety will be doing

things that they seldom do, such as, jiggling their legs, touching their nose every

five minutes, or fiddling with a pen when they happen to be in that uneasy

situation. Test anxiety is known as a situation type of anxiety. It will only happen

in certain undesirable situations. However, it can be controlled as one grows and

it is likely advised to be controlled to better the performance of those who suffer

from it. Nevertheless, a little sensation of test anxiety feeling sometimes is

beneficial as it makes the brain works faster than usual. This is because there are

those who perform better when they are under some pressure.

2

1.1 Background of the study As education never stops changing, people in the field become more

aware on how they can help students to the maximum. Testing would be an area

which can help boost students’ achievement if we manage to teach the right

strategies and skills to them. Even after exposing them to all those strategies and

skills, there will still be one problem that is quite troublesome as it might differ

from one student to another, which is, test anxiety.

Cizek and Burg (2006) stated that test anxiety is one of many specific

forms of anxiety, resulting in a combination of cognitive and physical responses

aroused in testing or similar situations in which a person believes that he or she is

being personally evaluated. In addition, Mohd Ghazali Borhan, 2003, stated that

it is a step by step event which started from the cognitive response, followed by

affective response, continued by physiology response and lastly reflected through

behaviour.

As mentioned above, this problem is quite specific to an individual. We

can have one student who is very comfortable and confident with himself or

herself and we can also have one who is afraid of everything. Zulkifli Ismail

(1993) in his motivation book said that test anxiety is a disease which has been a

part of students, like this anxiety sometimes can be the factor that leads to

students’ failure if it is not tackled.

Facing this kind of problem might not allow us to overcome it in total.

However, by knowing how it can be reduced might make a difference. It is well

known that tertiary level students will be facing more challenging test questions

or test type (more subjective type) and will probably have less time to answer

them in. Moreover, test papers are usually written in English, if not bilingual, as

3

an option for students so that they are able to control themselves in terms of

anxiety due to language barrier during a test for them to be able to score well.

In Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), examination and test cover

normally between 20 and 60 percent of the total mark of a course. That is quite a

lot. Lecturers are given the opportunity to determine the percentage and this is

quite flexible as scores division can be changed throughout the course by mutual

understanding among the lecturers who teach the subject. Lecturers should be

able to see how well the students will perform. The decision should resort to the

one that benefit both parties the most.

Besides, final examination is a must. Thus, UTM students cannot run

away from taking tests. In UTM, a test is normally conducted in a small class

while examination will involve people from various courses from the same

faculty. However, this study will only look at test situation.

1.2 Statement of the problem

As test is usually conducted mid-way throughout a semester, many

students are usually busy with their assignments and other co-curricular

activities. This study will look at test anxiety behaviour of senior students of the

Faculty of Education when taking a test.

Nowadays, humans compete to be the best in order for self satisfaction.

Students will start worrying on how others will view them if they do poorly in

tests, assignments and examination. Attitude and also ability to socialize are

among those that worry them most. Especially for those who are around 18 to 25,

they will trying to put a nice image in order to receive recognition from both

4

friends and special friends. To have been viewed positively from people around

them might work to boost their self confidence.

Students too, will start to realize that they are responsible to maintain

their parents’ reputation. In order to do that, of course they will have to take care

of their own. This is another big concern that students would usually face which

is to be concerned about their self-image. This feeling of uneasiness does not

need attention from others. The person himself can feel the need to be clean and

to have a nice image.

People nowadays compete against each other, so students have to start

being concern about their future security. Academic qualifications would be the

first criterion for fresh undergraduates that the perspective employer would

consider before offering students the job. Thus, students have to do their best in

everything whether in project or class assignment, quiz or test and examination.

Students always have difficulty in managing their time. So, they have

problems deciding whether to complete an assignment or be ready for a quiz or

test. This is really stressful and students might end up feeling anxious. For

instance, a test might come up after a test and is likely to be followed with

another test and this is also contributing to the lack of time for students to

prepare.

Thus, this study intends not only to look at expressions and sources of test

anxiety but also the perspective of UTM senior students on how they overcome

test anxiety.

5

1.3 Purpose of the study

This study aims investigate the expressions and sources of test anxiety as

perceived by UTM senior students and how they overcome it in order to achieve

better performance in a test.

1.4 Objectives of the study

This study has the following objectives:

1. To discover the expressions of test anxiety as experienced by UTM senior

students when taking a test.

2. To discover the sources of test anxiety among UTM senior students when

taking test.

3. To investigate how UTM senior students overcome their anxiety when taking

test.

1.5 Research questions

The study intends to find answers to the questions below:

1. What are the expressions of test anxiety as experienced by UTM senior

students when taking a test?

2. What are the sources of test anxiety as perceived by UTM senior students

when they take a test?

3. How do UTM senior students overcome their anxiety when taking a test?

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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA - fp.utm.my · Satu set borang soal selidik telah ... 4.1.1.4 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English 38 ... on club activities. 2