Students' perceptions of the factors that affect their test-taking performance : an exploratory study

Abstract

Students performance during exams varies according to many variables. Some learners face problems during test preparation or during test taking and others during both stages. The lack of the ability to think, to reason and to remember, anxiety, heat, gender, sleep and overconfidence are a few of the factors that might interfere and affect negatively the learners performance in a given test. This intervention was mounted for two major purposes. The first purpose was to examine how students would respond to an intervention involving training in reading, goal setting, relaxation and test taking techniques during an intensive English course in a private Lebanese university. The second purpose was to find out what the student responses would tell us about the effectiveness of this intervention in terms of improved performance in taking exams and tests. An exploratory qualitative methodology was implemented in order to collect the data needed through three different resources: a survey, observation, and interviews. • A survey to elicit their opinion about the different reasons affecting their performance in tests. • Observation reports to gauge the reaction of different groups under study. I observed the learners while giving the intervention, as well during their exam. • An interview consisting of two stages: first, I interviewed the students asking them to "think out loud" about how they analyzed their exam questions and, second, I required them to answer three questions regarding test-taking and test-preparation skills. The results of the survey revealed that the learners performance was affected by both cognitive and affective factors. The results of the class observations showed that the learners were interested in learning about test and study skills in order to improve their test preparation and test-taking strategies. The results of the test observations showed that the learners reacted differently while having their exams. The results of the interviews revealed that learners faced most problems during test-taking rather than their test preparation.