Relationship Between Test Anxiety, Academic Achievement And Interest Of Senior Secondary School Students In Mathematics

ABSTRACT

This study investigated relationship between test anxiety, academic achievement and interest of senior secondary school students in mathematics. The research was guided by six research     questions and six hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Correlational survey research design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Abia State which consisted of 17 local Government Areas (LGAs). The population consisted of all the male and female students in senior secondary school two in all the public secondary schools in Abia State. A sample of 300 senior secondary school two students, comprising 147 male students and 153 female students were used for the sample. Three instruments were used and they include; the Geometry Text Anxiety Scale (GTAS), the Geometry Interest Scale (GIS) and Geometry Achievement Test (GAT). The instruments are 4-point likert type scale. Kuder Richardson  formula 21(K-R21) was used to calculate the reliability index of Geometry Achievement Test (GAT), the reliability indices is  0.76 while Cronbach’s Alpha (α) was used to calculate the reliability indices of Geometry Test Anxiety Scale(GTAS) and the reliability indice is 0.93  and Geometry Interest Scale (GIS) reliability index 0.77 . The data collected were analysed using Pearson’s product moment coefficient (r), mean, standard deviation and t-test.  The results from the data analysed revealed that: there was a moderate relationship between test anxiety and academic achievement of student in geometry; there was a low relationship between test anxiety and students interests in geometry; there was a significant positive relationship between test anxiety and students’ interest in geometry; there was a significant difference in the mean academic achievement scores of female and male students. The following recommendation was made; teachers should always find ways of creating and sustaining moderate test anxiety on students; among others.