THE EFFECT OF EXAMINATION ANXIETY ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study: Education creates problem-solvers who can apply their knowledge to a range of difficulties. A great education gives a student a high degree of Meta cognitive abilities, which helps him comprehend himself as a cognitive processor and recognize task and strategy elements for optimal learning (Hoe, Cheong and Yee, 2015). Some pupils, even those with a high education level and meta cognitive skills, struggle to explain what they've learned. Such pupils attend courses and complete assignments, yet fail exams, especially when the stakes are high. Students with test anxiety have done everything necessary but yet lack confidence during tests. Examination anxiety, often called test anxiety, is disquiet or tension felt before, during, and after an exam owing to worry or dread of ambiguity. Zeidner (2018) defined it as phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral symptoms related with exam anxiety or failure. It's a feeling someone may have in a high-pressure situation. Test anxiety isn't terrible. A small level of test anxiety is natural and helpful for students to retain their focus and motivate them to prepare, devise, and master test-taking strategies. Children must be mentally and physically alert (Birjandi and Alemi, 2010).

In Tuncay (2017) opine that when anxiety or arousal levels rise, performance diminishes. The person fails to take responsibility . Tuncay says anxiety is a normal part of human nature, and understanding why something happens makes it less frightening. Umuinyang (2019) separated problem-solving and emotion-focused anxiety coping approaches. Problem-focused solutions target environmental variables that lead to stern and nervous expressions, and emotion-focused strategies affect how a person experiences a stressful situation. Some anxious youngsters have academic problems. They go blank, tremble, and go numb from exam anxiety. Education improves grades. It measures a person's anxiousness.

Additionally, stress can cause anxiety, which disrupts learning and memory and affects academic performance, according to Cassady & Johnson (2015). Healthy stress can increase talents and academic performance, according to (20). Performance anxiety, or test anxiety, is widespread. Excellent players have missed penalty shoots due to performance anxiety, costing their countries or teams titles in club or international games. DeCaro, Thomas, Albert, and Beilock (2011) found that under pressure, baseball players committed more errors and remembered less, such as bat direction. Some job hopefuls forget their own names during interviews for high-paying jobs where great performance is required (Putwain, Woods and Symes, 2010). Performance anxiety leads a professor to sweat heavily and seem disoriented in front of a large crowd. Anxiety is a more dispersed, out-of-proportion emotional reaction than fear (2). Anxiety is a psychological and behavioral state Ubani (2012believes anxiety is both life-saving and causes mental difficulties in individuals. Humans convey inner fights through words, attitudes, feelings, and emotions. Man uses anxiety or concern to describe interior difficulties. Psychological analysis theory says anxiety causes most mental illnesses. Anxiety is "emotional anguish" This is like being hurt, irritated, or ill. According to De Rosa, A.P. & Patalano (2018), anxiety is the cost of civilization, students' stress is an inescapable occurrence that is often encountered in undergraduates. They cited physical, mental, familial, career, and social relationships as contributing to stress in these students, which can negatively impact their academic results. Females are more affected by exam and other event anxiety than guys. Unhealthy anxiety simply harms school performance. Extreme anxiety interferes with school functioning, whereas mild anxiety can be motivating and advantageous to academic progress.

 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Today in Nigeria, as in other parts the world, performance at examination is the yardstick for measuring, judging and selecting manpower, and for assessing students for promotion and the award of certificates. It is little wonder then that many students of tertiary institutions have anxiety particularly during examination and this has adversely affected their performance, this is because of the much emphasis laid on examination in schools and by job-offering agents of the society that students become convince that sustenance of life depends on their performance in examinations. They therefore cultivate fear of failures. Because of this failure, they resort to cheating during examinations, some even become involved in certificate racketeering and this attitude towards examination is a major element of the indiscipline of the wider society. In Tertiary Institutions, clinical symptoms of test anxiety are made manifest when students start having abnormal rapid heartbeats, sweating palms or body, shivering and spilling their ink during examination. There have been also cases of students going insane or collapsing in examination halls because of such anxiety, these posses a big problem to both schools and society as a whole.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Having taken cognizance of the nature of the problem posed by examination anxiety, the objectives of this study are therefore to:

1. Find out the effect of examination anxiety on the performance of student of tertiary institution (University).

2. Identify the causes of anxiety over examination among students.

3. To ascertain the extent of this anxiety on the students’ performance since anxiety is a psychological problem

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;  

H0:   There is no significant predictive effect of examination anxiety on the academic performance of students

H1: There is significant predictive effect of examination anxiety on the academic performance of students

H02:  There is no significant relationship between students’ examination anxiety and their academic performance

H2:  There is significant relationship between students’ examination anxiety and their academic performance

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The work of assessing students’ learning is complex. In order to assess their work objectively, teachers and instructors use various methods and instruments, one of which is testing. We are aware that nowadays testing has become an inherent part of the society we live in. we are tested in order to drive a car, to practice a trade or profession, and to gain admission into schools. Consequently, many important discussions are based on test results. So, it is not surprising that anxiety during test has become a prominent problem in schools all over the world. The present study focuses primarily on test anxiety and its effects on academic performance of students in tertiary institutions, as well as its causes and impacts.

The findings of this empirical study have implications for helping professionals and academia in addressing the menace of test anxiety of the test students in higher education so that timely and effectively counseling and therapeutic interventions could be introduced in colleges and universities.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This present study covers the students of only one institution, namely the faculty of education and Arts and Social Science, in Taraba State University, Jalingo. Secondly, the study is limited to the subjects variables such as sex, grade and achievement scores of the students. Lastly, background education is no a variable. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

 a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study

b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI): Is a copyrighted instrument to measure test anxiety level of an individual.

Academic Performance: In Educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance or how well a student meets standards set out by the local government and the institution itself.

 Anxiety: Is a kind of anxiety which is related to the impending danger from the environment of the academic institution including teacher in certain subjects like Mathematics, English etc.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows: Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.