Exam preparation anxiety in Turkey : a longitudinal study on "2010 Level Determination Exam"

Abstract

In Turkey, eighth, seventh and sixth graders took Seviye Belirleme Sınavı (SBS), “Level Determination Exam” in order to continue their education in competent high schools. The preparation period of SBS is stressful and previous studies showed that during the preparation period anxiety levels of students decrease (Özerman, 2007; Rafferty, 1997). The present study investigated the change in preparation anxiety levels of Turkish sixth, seventh and eighth graders and effects of “personal” (age, gender, preparation style, socio-economic status (SES) and trait anxiety), “appraisal” (level of importance attributed to the exam and achievement expectancy) and “adaptation outcome” (previous exam scores) variables on the change in levels of preparation anxiety. Mentioned variables are considered as key elements for transactional models of test anxiety (Zeidner, 1998). One hundred and sixty eight, sixth to eighth grade Turkish students participated and results showed that SES of the participants affected the levels of importance attributed to the exam and achievement expectancy. Moreover, participants’ preparation anxiety decreased as the exam approached. Variables such as gender, SES, trait anxiety and previous exam scores had significant effects on the change in levels of preparation anxiety.