Anxiety Differences in Difficult and

Test anxiety is of particular significance in education in light of its debilitative effect on test scores and the implications and longranged effects of test results on the individual lives of the school children. This research is concerned with test anxiety of children under different test conditions. Subjects were 4th and 6th grade students who ranked math as most difficult and spelling as easiest among school subjects. They were given the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) under 3 conditions, in conjunction with the math test (difficult), with the spelling test (easy) , and with no test. Administration was arranged to control for ordering effects. It was found that a significant difference between the means of the TASC under easy and difficult test conditions occurred. It was also determined that in repeated use of the TASC a significant ordering effect occurs, that is, the repeated TASC score becomes increasingly socially desirable. However, the significant difference between easy and difficult test conditions occurred in spite of this tendency. The significance of these tindings indicate the possible use of the TASC to determine specific test anxiety under differing conditions. (Author