Test anxiety in context: Primary students' experience of test anxiety in an ecological framework

The inception of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 has increased the frequency and importance of testing in public schools. However, it is unclear how social-emotional factors, such as test anxiety, manifest themselves within the current educational climate. The current study utilized Bronfenbrenner and Morris' bioecological model of development to look at how contextual factors including perceptions of parenting behaviors (e.g., parental warmth and parental power assertion), perceptions of classroom environment (e.g., classroom friction and classroom cohesiveness), achievement goal orientation and perceived self-competence are related to primary students' experience of test anxiety. Demographic factors including gender, grade, primary language and race/ethnicity are also considered. Understanding the relationships between these variables is important as it will help to enable learning environments to be structured in ways that are supportive and adaptive for students.;The sample for the current research consisted of 114 students in grades three, four, and five who were attending public school in a large urban area. Analysis utilized both multiple regression and ANOVA. A significant final regression model was obtained that accounted for 57.6% of the variance in test anxiety in which grade, performance-avoidance goal orientation, classroom friction, classroom cohesiveness, paternal warmth and perceived self-competence were all significant predictors of test anxiety. The potential role of achievement goal orientation as a mediating variable was also considered but not supported among the current sample. Analysis utilizing ANOVA also demonstrated significant differences in levels of reported test anxiety based on gender, age, grade and primary language. Implications of these results are discussed as well as directions for future research.