A Study of Test Anxiety, Self-Esteem and Academic Performance Among Adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discover how test anxiety and self-esteem affect academic performance. Three hundred and twenty randomly selected students of class 12 of the government inter colleges in Darbhanga town were involved in the study. They were asked to complete the Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1980) and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith, 1987) in a classroom environment during regular school hours. Their aggregate marks of 11th class were also collected. The data were then analyzed using descriptive, correlational and inferential statistics. The study discovered that overall (i) low test anxiety students (boys, girls, rural and urban) had higher academic performance than high test anxiety students (boys, girls, rural and urban); (ii) there is a positive relationship between self-esteem and academic performance of the students (boys, girls, rural and urban); (iii) there is a negative relationship between test anxiety and self-esteem of students (boys, girls, rural and urban); (iv) boys have least test anxiety, better self-esteem and better academic performance than girls; and (v) urban students have least test anxiety, better self-esteem and excellent academic performance in comparison to their rural counterparts.