Examining the Relationship Between 5-8th Grade Students' Test Anxiety and Mathematics Anxiety

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

The study examines the relationship between test anxiety and mathematics anxiety and whether variables differ in test anxiety and mathematics anxiety scores among 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Data from 337 middle-school students in Istanbul were collected using the Test Anxiety Scale for Children, the Mathematical Anxiety Scale, and a Personal Information Form. Analysis used means, t-test, F-test (ANOVA), correlation, and Scheffe test when needed. Results show moderate levels of both anxieties, higher scores across classroom levels, no gender differences, and a positive relationship between mathematics and test anxiety.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Mathematics, anxiety, and learning

The study’s rationale

Method (implied)

Participants

Data collection tools

Data analysis

Results (implied)

Levels of math and test anxiety

Differences by classroom level and gender

Relationship between math and test anxiety

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 5-8TH GRADE STUDENTS' TEST ANXIETY AND MATHEMATICS ANXIETY Çiğdem ARSLAN Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between test anxiety and math anxiety and determining whether some of the variables have differences in test anxiety and mathematics anxiety scores of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. The study was conducted with 337 students in two middle school selected by random sampling method in Istanbul during the 2016-2017 academic year. The data of the study was collected with the Test Anxiety Scale for Children, Mathematical Anxiety Scale and Personal Information Form, and the scores were tested for mean, t-test, F-test (ANOVA) and correlation coefficient analysis and when it was necessary, the Scheffe test was done. As a result of the research, middle school students' math anxiety points average and test anxiety points average were found to be moderate. It is observed that the students'math anxiety averages point, and test anxiety point averages are increased according to the level of classroom they are in and they are unchanged according to gender. At the same time, there is a positive relationship between students' math anxiety and test anxiety. Key words: Middle school students, Math anxiety, Test anxiety. 1. Introduction Mathematics has been and remains a dominant role in the educational life of all levels of students from past to present. In daily life, people often encounter mathematical situations and need to use many skills such as estimating, analyzing data, numerical processing, reasoning during decision-making. In addition to mathematics education, it contributes to the understanding of life and the world and to produce new ideas about them and to help solve many problems in a more systematic way. Although its teaching is always a matter of great importance and emphasis, mathematics is still perceived as hard to understand and learn by many students. For children from a young age, mathematics is abstract, with fear of the unknown, the child is afraid of mathematics and this continues in adulthood. Many students who see mathematics as an increasingly tedious, boring and fearing lesson are looking at mathematics negatively. For this reason, the success achieved in mathematics is low, many of the students 'and teachers' times go to waste and the desired manpower cannot be reached (Yenilmez & Duman, 2008) . The mathematics course is one of the most important courses for students at all levels and the failure of this course is considered as an important problem for students, parents, teachers and administrators. Failure to succeed is one of the most important obstacles to learning. The primary concern that mathematics teaching must overcome is the failure to succeed and the prejudice that mathematics is difficult (Usta, 2014) . This requirement maximizes mathematics amongst the difficult and unpopular subjects for many students. One of the most important problems in this area is the anxiety that students experience for their mathematics achievement. Therefore, studies on math anxiety have been widely used in order to increase mathematics achievement. A meta-analysis was conducted by Şad, Kış, Demir and Özer (2016), which examined the relationship between mathematics achievement and mathematics anxiety, and it was found that there was a negative and moderate relationship between mathematics achievement and anxiety. It is seen that the attitudes of all students who met mathematics in the early years of primary education even in the pre-school period did not have the same attitude towards mathematics. The main reason why the student is concerned about mathematics and does not like the lesson is that s/he thinks that he cannot succeed in mathematics. It is known that the students who have high math anxiety and failing to understand the subjects to be covered in the course are a natural result of anxiety. It should also be remembered th

FAQs

Do math anxiety and test anxiety differ by gender?

No. The averages are reported to be unchanged according to gender, while they increase according to classroom level.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya