The Pre-Service Teacher Test Anxiety Scale

The Pre-Service Teacher Test Anxiety Scale:

A Principal Components Analysis

Table of Contents

Rationale for Scale p. 3

Scale Development p. 4

Initial Scale p. 6

Scale Development Analysis p. 7

Table 1 (Factor Loadings) p. 9

Principal Components Analysis with Orthogonal Rotation

Reliability and Validity p. 10

Table 2 (Correlations for Validation) p. 10

Demographic Comparison p. 11

Recommendations p. 11

References p. 13

Internal Structure, Reliability, and Validity of the

Pre-Service Teacher Test Anxiety Scale

Rationale for New Scale

Nervous feelings preceding an upcoming an examination is something that most people have experienced at some point in their lives. Some are not greatly affected by pre-examination jitters, while others find it debilitating (Sarson, 1978). This more extreme type of reaction to an impending examination is known as test anxiety. Anxiety can be defined as an individual’s response to something perceived as a threat, which can be manifested in several different ways (Hockenbury, 2010). Test anxiety can affect an individual’s moods, thoughts, behaviors, and even bodily functions (Seligman, Walker, & Rosenhan, 2010). For example, people suffering from test anxiety who have an upcoming examination may find it hard to concentrate, have stomach ailments, or suffer from a depressed mood.

A number of scales have been created examining mathematics anxiety of pre-service teachers (Bekdemir, 2010; Gresham, 2007). However, there is little available research examining test anxiety among this population. Test anxiety can have detrimental side effects o...

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...in test anxiety and examination stress. Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society, 9(2), 85-90.

Gresham, G. (2007). A Study Of Mathematics Anxiety in Pre-Service Teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(2), 181-188.

Hockenbury, D. (2010). Discovering psychology: WH Freeman & Company.

Sarason, I.G. (1978). The test anxiety scale: Concept and research. Stress and Anxiety, 5, 185-216.

Seligman, M., Walker, E. F., & Rosenhan, D. L. (2010). Abnormal psychology (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Spielberger, C.D. (1980). Test Anxi- ety Inventory: Preliminary pro- fessional manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Sullivan, L. (2002). The effect of test anxiety on attention and memory skills in undergraduate students. Paper presented at the Annual Review of undergraduate research at the College of Charleston, USA Charleston.