Test anxiety and self-efficacy : Levels and relationship among secondary school students in Hong Kong

The present study examined the level of test anxiety and its relationship with self-efficacy among a sample of secondary school students in Hong Kong. A questionnaire consisting of the Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1980) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992) was used to collect data for the study. The results indicated that self-efficacy was a salient and powerful predictor of test anxiety and was positively correlated with test anxiety as well. Hong Kong secondary school students were found to score impressively high on the test anxiety total and subscales. Female subjects were found to be significantly more test-anxious than male subjects and scored significantly lower on the self-efficacy scale than male subjects. Years of schooling also had an effect on the subjects' test anxiety levels. To conclude the paper, methodological considerations for further studies on test anxiety are discussed.