TEST ANXIETY AMONG SCHOOL STUDENTS APPEARING FOR PUBLIC EXAM AT A GOVT HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, MADURAI

Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety that can affect people of all ages, including adolescents. It is characterized by psychological, physiological, and behavioural reactions related to concerns about obtaining a negative result in an evaluative situation. The study aims to measure the level of exam anxiety among school student and to find out the association or difference between independent variables and test anxietyvariable. The sample size of the study is 50 students appearing for the public exam. The researcher used descriptive research design. Westside Test anxiety tool with good reliability and validity was used.Fifty students from 10th, 11th and 12th std were the samples for the study using stratified proportionate random sampling. Findings show that 37% of respondent hadmoderate high level of test anxiety. ‘t' test result shows that there is statistically significant difference between female and male students with regard to their test anxiety. Chi-square result shows that there is no association between the type of family and level of test anxiety. The researcher suggests anxiety reduction strategies that will not impair the test performance rather reduce the test anxiety.