Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics
Prior research shows that gender differences in self-efficacy and test anxiety can predict students' course performance. Although there has been research that uses test anxiety and self-efficacy to predict student grades, no study to our knowledge has investigated this in the context of low- and high-stakes physics assessments. In this work, we used survey data and grade information to compare the predictive power of self-reported self-efficacy and test anxiety on low-stakes (e.g., homework and quizzes) and high-stakes (e.g., traditional exams) assessment scores in a traditionally taught large introductory physics course. We found that there are gender differences in both self-efficacy and test anxiety, as well as in high-stakes assessment outcomes. There were no gender differences in low-stakes assessment scores. Further, we found that models that control for self-efficacy and/or test anxiety eliminate the predictive power of gender for high-stakes assessment scores. Finally, we found that self-efficacy partially mediates the effect of test anxiety on high-stakes assessment outcomes. These trends suggest that teaching methods that alleviate test anxiety have the potential to create a more equitable learning environment.
Physics Education Research Conference 2021
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: August 4-5, 2021 Pages 390-395
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!
![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15786">Singh, Chandralekha, and Alysa Malespina. "Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021.</a>
![]() C. Singh and A. Malespina, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515).
![]() C. Singh and A. Malespina, Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515>.
![]() Singh, C., & Malespina, A. (2021, August 4-5). Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference. Retrieved March 18, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515
![]() Singh, Chandralekha, and Alysa Malespina. "Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515 (accessed 18 March 2025).
![]() Singh, Chandralekha, and Alysa Malespina. "Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics." Physics Education Research Conference 2021. Virtual Conference: 2021. 390-395 of PER Conference. 18 Mar. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Chandralekha Singh and Alysa Malespina",
Title = {Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2021},
Pages = {390-395},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {August 4-5},
Year = {2021}
}
![]() %A Chandralekha Singh %A Alysa Malespina %T Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics %S PER Conference %D August 4-5 2021 %P 390-395 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %O August 4-5 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Singh, Chandralekha %A Malespina, Alysa %D August 4-5 2021 %T Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %C Virtual Conference %P 390-395 %S PER Conference %8 August 4-5 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15786&DocID=5515 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Test anxiety, self-efficacy, and gender: A quest for equitable assessment practices in physics:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
ContributeRelated MaterialsSimilar Materials |