Oral assessments can induce more anxiety than written ones, yet many students still prefer them¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Oral assessments can induce more anxiety in students than written assessments, but many students still stated they preferred them to a written assessment. → Fenton 2025

Evidence¶

Fenton 2025¶

Fenton, A. (2025). Reconsidering the Use of Oral Exams and Assessments: An Old Way to Move Into a New Future. Educational Researcher, 54(7), 430-436. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X251333638

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing Huxham et al. (2012), a comparison of student anxiety and attitudes across oral and written assessments. The article notes "many students still stated they preferred them to a written assessment" despite higher anxiety; no effect size is printed.

"Huxham et al. (2012) found that oral assessments can induce more anxiety in students than written ones; however, despite this, many students still stated they preferred them to a written assessment."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Affect Regulation — outcome: instruction changes it
• Academic Anxiety — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Students taking online and proctored online exams report higher test anxiety than students taking on-campus exams and non-proctored online exams — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• No evidence found that particular student groups are disadvantaged in oral versus written assessments — related
• Retrieval practice benefits learners regardless of trait anxiety level, but higher trait or induced anxiety is associated with smaller testing effects — related
• Students performed better on oral measures than written measures in comparison studies — related
• Moving oral assessments online reduced required support staff hours from almost 8 days to 3 days