Worry did not explain unique variance in students' test performance or mathematics grade, challenging the worry-based explanation of the test anxiety-performance link¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Worry was not significantly related to any performance measure in multiple regressions and did not explain unique variance in the mathematics grade. → Schillinger 2021

Evidence¶

Schillinger 2021¶

Schillinger, F. L., Mosbacher, J. A., Brunner, C., Vogel, S. E., & Grabner, R. H. (2021). Revisiting the Role of Worries in Explaining the Link Between Test Anxiety and Test Performance. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09601-0

q3 · i? · associational · r2

In the regression analyses of 730 university students, worry estimates were non-significant across all four performance measures (e.g., t = -1.11, p = .264 for intelligence) and in the ordinal grade model (z = 0.61, p = .538). The authors conclude "the present results, in contrast, suggest that worries cannot explain the lower test performance of test-anxious students."

"The present results, in contrast, suggest that worries cannot explain the lower test performance of test-anxious students. Instead, interference by test-irrelevant thoughts and lack of confidence seem to be the driving forces behind the inverse relationship between test anxiety and test performance."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Academic Anxiety — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Arousal showed a positive relationship with final high school mathematics grade when controlling for the other test anxiety facets — related
• Interference and lack of confidence, but not worry or arousal, explain unique variance in university students' standardized test performance — related
• The present results replicate Donati et al.'s (2019) finding that interference and lack of confidence, but not worry, relate to arithmetic test performance, extending it to unique variance and domain-general intelligence — a broader claim this one bears on
• No evidence for a curvilinear relationship between arousal and test performance — related
• Interference and lack of confidence correlated negatively with all performance measures, whereas worry and arousal showed selective, weaker bivariate correlations — related
• Motivational constructs explain more variance in school grades than in standardized test scores — related